Organizing an efficient sequence of tasks
Most retouching follows these six general steps Checking the scan quality and making sure that the resolution is appropriate for the way you will use the image. Cropping the image to final size and orientation. Adjusting the overall contrast or tonal range of the image. Adjusting the color and tone in specific parts of the image to bring out highlights, midtones, shadows, and desaturated colors. Sharpening the overall focus of the image. Usually, you should complete these processes in the order...
Selecting with the magnetic lasso
You can use the magnetic lasso tool in Photoshop to make freehand selections of areas with high-contrast edges. When you draw with the magnetic lasso, the border automatically snaps to the edge you are tracing. You can also control the direction of the tool's path by clicking the mouse to place occasional fastening points in the selection border. There is no magnetic lasso tool in ImageReady. You'll now move the padlock to the center of the black oval you placed on the book cover earlier in...
Smoothing the edges of a stroke
Now you'll use the blur tool to soften the edges of your paint strokes, smoothing out the color transitions between the brown shadows, the underlying bark, and the bright highlights. 1 In the toolbox, select the blur tool . Then, in the Brushes palette, select a small brush, such as the Soft Round 21 brush you used earlier. Make sure that tool options bar is set with Mode at Normal and Strength at 50 . Mode Normal t Strength 50M I gt I Use All Layers 2 Make sure that the Highlight layer is...
Combining paths into a filled shape
Your next task is to define the two circles as a single element, so that you can add a colored fill. 1 Using the path selection tool 0, select one of your circles, and then hold down Shift and select the second circle. Both paths are now selected. 2 In the tool options bar, click the Combine button. The Combine button is now dimmed because the two paths are now treated as one shape. 3 In the toolbar, click the Default Foreground And Background Colors button , which is to the lower left of the...
Using the Info bar
In Photoshop, the Info bar is positioned at the lower border of the application window Windows or the lower border of the image window Mac OS . This area displays the current magnification, an area for specific choices of information types, and context-sensitive information about the currently selected tool. In ImageReady, the Info bar appears at the lower border of the image window. You can click an arrow button on the Info bar to open a pop-up menu of different categories of information. Your...
Getting started 3
Before beginning this lesson, restore the default application settings for Adobe Photoshop. See Restoring default preferences on page 5. You'll start the lesson by viewing the finished lesson file to see the image that you'll create as you explore the selection tools in Photoshop. If a notice appears asking whether you want to customize your color settings, click No. 2 Choose File gt Open, and open the 04End.psd file, located in the Lessons Lesson04 folder on your hard drive. The project is a...
Flattening a layered image
If you plan to send a file out for proofs, it's also a good idea to save two versions of the file one containing all the layers so that you can edit the file if necessary, and one flattened version to send to the print shop. When you flatten a file, all layers are merged into a single background, greatly reducing the size of the file. 1 First, note the values in the lower-left corner of the application window Windows or the 11Start.psd image window Mac OS . If the display does not show the file...
Creating a flag image and more text
In this section, you'll create a light red triangular shape for a flag in one layer and text in a separate layer. Before you begin, make sure that Layer 1 is selected in the Layers palette. 1 In the Layers palette, select Layer 2, and then click the New Layer button j to create another layer, Layer 3. 2 Select the polygon tool s , hidden under the ellipse tool . 3 In the tool options bar, do the following Select Fill Pixels the third of three buttons near the left end of the bar. Click the...
Automating a multi-step task
An action is a set of one or more commands that you record and can play back to apply that series of commands to a single file or a batch of files. In this section of the lesson, you'll see how the Actions palette can help you save time by applying a multi-step process to the four images you'll use in this project. Using actions is one of several ways that you can automate tasks in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady. To learn more about recording actions, see Photoshop 7.0 online Help.
Getting to Know the Work Area
As you work with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady, you'll discover that there is often more than one way to accomplish the same task. To make the best use of the extensive editing capabilities in these programs, you first must learn to navigate the work area. In this lesson, you'll learn how to do the following Open an Adobe Photoshop file. Select tools from the toolbox. Use viewing options to enlarge and reduce the display of an image. This lesson will take about 60 minutes to complete....
Using the patch tool
The patch tool combines the selection behavior of the lasso tool with the color-blending properties of the healing brush tool. With the patch tool, you can select an area that you want to use as the source area to be fixed or destination area used to do the fixing . Then you drag the patch tool marquee to another part of the image. When you release the mouse button, the patch tool does its job. The marquee remains active over the mended area, ready to be dragged again, either to another area...
14 Optimizing Web Images and Image Maps
For effective Web publishing, your images must strike a good balance between file size and display quality. Using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady, you can optimize your images so that they have reasonable download times from a Web server without losing essential details, colors, transparencies, or navigational elements such as image maps. In this lesson, you'll learn how to do the following Optimize JPEG and GIF files, and adjust the optimization settings to achieve the desired balance...
Placing a custom shape
A custom shape, representing a golf ball balanced on a tee, has been created for you. In this scenario, the tournament organizers intend to print this image on various types of collateral items mailing letterheads, registration forms, advertisements, name tags, T-shirts, Web pages, and so forth that may be printed in different sizes and colors. You'll now load that shape into your Custom Shape picker and then use it in your poster for the golf tournament. 1 In the toolbox, select the custom...
Adding a gradient
Now you'll use the gradient tool to add a gradient to the other pear for a highlight effect. ImageReady does not have a gradient tool. Instead, gradients are created as ImageReady layer effects. First, you'll need to load the selection that you made earlier of the left pear. 1 Choose Select gt Load Selection, and select Left Pear. Click OK. A selection border appears around the left pear in your image. 2 Click the Color palette tab to bring it forward, and then select red as the foreground...
Drawing straight paths
Straight paths are created by clicking the mouse button. The first time you click, you set a starting point for a path. Each time thereafter that you click, a straight line is drawn between the previous point and the current point. 1 Using the pen tool, position the pointer on point A in the template and click the pen tool. Then click point B to create a straight-line path. As you draw paths, a temporary storage area named Work Path appears in the Paths palette to keep track of the paths you...
13 Preparing Images for Two-Color Printing
Not every commercially printed publication requires four-color reproduction. Printing in two colors using a grayscale image and spot color can be an effective and inexpensive alternative. In this lesson, you'll learn how to use Adobe Photoshop to prepare full-color images for two-color printing. In this lesson, you'll learn how to do the following Convert a color image to monochrome, and improve its overall quality. Adjust the tonal range of the image by assigning black and white points....
Adding spot color to text
Text in an image can also appear in spot color. There are different methods for creating this effect, but the most straightforward is to add the text directly to the spot-color channel. Note that text in a spot-color channel behaves differently from text created on a type layer. Spot-color-channel text is uneditable. Once you create the type, you cannot change its specifications, and once you deselect the type, you cannot reposition it. Now you'll add text to the spot-color channel and place...
Rearranging layers
The order in which the layers of an image are organized is called the stacking order. The stacking order of layers determines how the image is viewed you can change the order to make certain parts of the image appear in front of or behind other layers. Now you'll rearrange layers so that the door image moves in front of another image in the file that is currently hidden. 1 Make the Statue and Doorway layers visible by clicking the eye icon boxes next to their layer names. Notice that the door...
Creating a layer-based slice
Another method for defining slices in Photoshop and ImageReady is to convert layers into slices. A layer-based slice includes all the pixel data in the layer. When you edit the layer, move it, or apply a layer effect to it, the layer-based slice adjusts to encompass the new pixels. To unlink a layer-based slice from its layer, you can convert it to a user slice. You'll create a slice based on the Copyright Strip layer, and then apply a layer effect to it so you can see how the slice adjusts to...
Combining selection tools
As you already know, the magic wand tool makes selections based on color. If an object you want to select is set against a differently colored background, it can be much easier to select the object and the background and then use the magic wand tool to subtract the background color, leaving the desired object selected. You'll see how this works by using the rectangular marquee tool and the magic wand tool to select the water lily. 1 Select the rectangular marquee tool hidden under the...
Opening and cropping the files
You'll start by opening and resizing four files. Since this part of the task involves aesthetic choices about where and how much of the image to crop, you'll do these steps manually rather than recording them with the Actions palette. 1 Choose File gt Open, and select the 12Start.jpg file, which is in the Lesson12 folder on your hard disk. 2 In the toolbox, select the crop tool -0. Hold down Shift and drag a square selection marquee around the pears. Holding down Shift constrains the selection...
Creating the simultaneous animations
Now you'll define the falling-drop animation by successively hiding and showing the layers of the Blender.psd file. You'll also build in the shaking-blender animation as the drop falls. All of this is done by coordinating settings in the Layers and Animation palettes. 1 In the Animation palette, make sure that frame 3 is selected, or select it now. 2 In the Layers palette, select Layer 1, and click the eye icon - boxes as needed to make only the Layer 1 and Drop layers visible hide the other...
Adding solid and screened areas of spot color
Next, you'll vary the effect of adding spot color by adding a solid block of the color and then a block of the color screened to 50 . The two areas will appear to be different colors even though you have used the same Pantone custom color on the same color separation. First, you'll make a selection for the solid block of color and fill the selection using a keyboard shortcut. 1 Using the rectangular marquee tool , , drag a selection marquee around the white square area in the upper right corner...
Experimenting with slices in Photoshop
In this procedure, you'll learn not only some of the ways you can create slices, but also the difference between use slices and auto slices. User slices and auto slices also have different capabilities, which is the reason that it is important to understand the distinctions between them. User slices are areas that you actively designate as slices. Auto slices are the rectangular divisions of the remainder of the image all the areas that are outside of a user slice. Photoshop and ImageReady...
Getting started 10
Before beginning this lesson, restore the default application settings for Adobe Photoshop. See Restoring default preferences on page 5. You'll start the lesson by viewing the final lesson file to see what you'll accomplish. If a notice appears asking whether you want to customize your color settings, click No. 2 Choose File gt Open, and open the file 11End.psd from the Lessons Lesson11 folder. 3 When you have finished viewing the file, either leave the it open on your desktop for reference, or...
Importing a layer from another file
In this part of the lesson, you'll import an existing layer from another file into your artwork. Although the imported layer contains the word diesel and was originally created with the type tool, the text has now been converted to a graphic. You can no longer edit it with the type tool, but the advantage here is that you also don't have to worry about whether or not your users or other people working on the file have the same font installed on their machines in order to see the image...
Adding layers to complete the effect
Now, just for fun, you'll see how creating the selection with the pen tool can help you achieve interesting effects in an image. Because you've now isolated the space ship, you can create an exact duplicate of the selection on a new layer. Then, when you add a new object to a layer between the original layer and the duplicate saucer layer, that new object appears to be between the saucer and the starry sky background. 1 In the Layers palette, make sure that the background layer is selected, so...
Adding to a selection by erasing masked areas
You'll begin by painting with white to increase the selected area within the egret. This erases some of the mask. 1 To make the foreground color white, select the Switch Foreground and Background Colors icon above the foreground and background color-selection boxes. 2 Select the zoom tool 0 and magnify your view of the image, if needed. Many times when you are editing an image, you'll need to zoom in to work on a detail and then need to zoom out again to see the changes in context. You can use...
Mixing the woman's image
First, you'll select the woman's image by loading a premade selection. 1 In the Layers palette, make sure that the background is selected. 2 Choose Select gt Load Selection. In the dialog box, select Woman from the Channel menu to load a selection that outlines the image of the woman. Click OK. Now you'll mix the Green and Blue channels to improve the selection's contrast. You'll use Green as the base channel because it has the best overall contrast for the image. 3 Choose Image gt Adjustments...
Stroking and filling paths
Earlier in this lesson, you used the Stroke command on the Paths palette menu to create colored pixels on straight paths. You can stroke or fill paths by dragging a named path onto one of the special buttons at the bottom of the Paths palette. To designate the painting options you want to apply to a path, you'll select a painting tool and paint options before you drag the path onto the appropriate button in the Paths palette. Note These Path palette buttons apply painting to the entire set of...
Applying the ZigZag filter
Next, you'll use the ZigZag filter to create the impression that you're viewing the reflection of a dandelion on the surface of a rippled pool of water. 1 In the Layers palette, select the Dandelion layer. 2 Choose Filter gt Distort gt ZigZag. 3 At the bottom of the ZigZag dialog box, make sure that Pond Ripples is selected in the Style pop-up menu. Then experiment with different settings for Amount and Ridges by dragging the sliders. The example uses 10 for Amount and 11 for Ridges. When you...
Mixing the framework's image
Next you'll select the framework, convert this part of the image to monochrome, and again mix channels to improve the contrast and detail. 1 Choose Select gt Inverse to select the framework behind the woman. 2 Choose Image gt Adjustments gt Channel Mixer. 3 In the Channel Mixer dialog box, choose Green for the Output Channel, and select Monochrome. This time the resulting image is dark and lacks contrast. You can improve the image again by blending in some of the Blue channel to increase the...
Using online Help
For complete information about using palettes, tools, and the application features, you can use online Help. Photoshop Help includes all the same topics and information as in the printed Adobe Photoshop 7.0 User Guide. Adobe Photoshop and Adobe ImageReady each include complete documentation in online Help, plus keyboard shortcuts, full-color galleries of examples, and more detailed information about some procedures. Online Help is easy to use, because you can look for topics in several ways...
Experimenting with slices created from guides
In Photoshop and ImageReady, you can convert all the areas between guides into user slices. When you convert guides into slices, the entire image is sliced and you lose any preexisting slices. 1 Choose File gt Save, and then choose View gt Show gt and make sure that checkmarks appear by both Slices, Autoslices, and Guides commands. If not, select those commands now, as needed. 2 In the toolbox, select the slice select tool y , and then select the Designs_button slice in the image window. In the...
Minimizing browser dither
As you learned earlier, images that include non-Web-safe colors undergo a process of dithering when displayed in a Web browser using an 8-bit display, because the browser simulates colors that do not occur in the 8-bit system palette. From ImageReady, you can preview how an optimized image will look when dithered in a Web browser. To protect a color from browser dither, you can Web-shift the color, converting the color to its nearest equivalent in the Web palette. Because the Web palette...
Applying and fading the Accented Edges filter
The Accented Edges filter exaggerates the margins between areas with different colors. You can adjust the extent of the exaggeration by changing the edge brightness control, but in this procedure, you'll use a Fade command to mute the results. 1 In the Layers palette, select theLeaves layer. Make sure that you select the layer itself and not the adjustment layer. 2 Choose Filter gt Brush Strokes gt Accented Edges. Click OK to accept the default settings in the Accented Edges dialog box. This...
Hand-coloring selections on a layer
You'll start to add special effects to your montage by hand-coloring the pears, beginning with the pear on the right. To select it, you'll simply load the first selection you created in the previous procedure. Then, you'll remove the color from the selection so that you can color it by hand. Finally, after adding a layer above the pears, you'll be ready to apply new color by adding it to the new layer. In this way, you can simply erase the layer and start over if you don't like the results. You...
Preserving transparency and preparing to optimize
Next, you'll optimize the image in GIF format with background transparency and preview your animation in a Web browser. Remember that only the GIF format supports animated images. 1 Click the double-arrow button on the Optimize palette tab to expand the palette, or choose Show Options on the Optimize palette menu. No Transpa Amount lC0X 2 Set the following options on the Optimize palette For the file format, choose GIF. For the color reduction algorithm, choose Perceptual. For Colors, select a...
Adding transparency dithering to the drop shadow
As you've already learned, dithering is a method of creating gradations of color with a limited color palette. This makes it useful for Web pages because you can simulate smoother gradations without sacrificing small file size and quick downloads. 1 With the 14Start3.psd active, choose File gt Save for Web to open the Save for Web dialog box. This step is not necessary in ImageReady. 2 Click the Optimized tab in the Save for Web dialog box Photoshop or image window ImageReady . 3 On the right...
Tweening the position and opacity of layers
To finish the animation sequence, you'll add frames that represent transitional image states between the two existing frames. When you change the position, opacity, or effects of any layer between two animation frames, you can instruct ImageReady to tween, or automatically create intermediate frames. 1 In the Animation palette, make sure that frame 1 is selected then choose Tween from the palette menu. 2 In the Tween dialog box, set the following options if they are not already selected On the...
Creating a quick mask
Now you'll open the start file and begin the lesson by using Quick Mask mode to convert a selection border into a temporary mask. Later, you will convert this temporary quick mask back into a selection border. Unless you save a quick mask as a more permanent alpha channel mask, the temporary mask will be discarded once it is converted to a selection. You'll begin by making a partial selection of the egret using the magic wand tool, and then you'll edit the selection using a quick mask. 1 Choose...