Adobe Photoshop 4.0:

an introduction to its features and use.

Workshop for University Publications

November 3, 1997, 1-4 p.m., Ham-Smith classroom

http://unhinfo.unh.edu/NIS/Courses/PhotoshopDemo/index.html

1. Goals:

To show Photoshop's look-and-feel, features, and power, limited to what you can reasonably absorb in one afternoon, and leaving you with pointers to more information and the motivation to try it. Examples focus on preparation of screen (Web) graphics rather than printed graphics.

2. Vocabulary and jargon.

Bit-mapping:

raster graphics screen pixels VRAM monitor dot pitch (mask) (< .3 mm)

Bit depths:

8-bit=256 16-bit=65.5 thousand 24-bit=16.7 million

32-bit=16.7M+8-bit masking channel

Colors:

gray-scale duotones indexed color RGB color CMYK color

HSB color CLUT=color lookup table gamma color temperature

Processing effects:

dithering anti-aliasing transparency interleaving compression

animation sharpening color reduction

File formats:

TIFF PICT GIF89a JPEG PSD PDF PhotoCD FlashPix PNG

Bottom line for Web-oriented graphics:

plan for 72 dpi, 256-color monitors, aware of Web-safe 216 CLUT.

keep small (in bytes) and fast-loading.

save as GIF89a or JPEG format.

keep a high-quality master file.

3. Major features

Tools:

selection text paint bucket burn/dodge/sponge magic wand

move lasso gradient rubber stamp (clone) color picker

Common Image adjustments:

levels variations sharpening mode export/save

Channels / Layers / Masks:

RGB alpha CMYK / opacity blending flattening / quick masking

quick masking

Filters:

artistic blur brush strokes distort noise pixelate render sharpen

sketch stylize texture video other, incl. commercial

Plug-in sets:

Adobe Gallery Effects (bundled).

KPT (Kai's) Power Tools from MetaCreations ($$$). http://www.metacreations.com/

Sucking Fish (free).

Eye Candy ($$$). http://www.alienskin.com/

Andromeda ($$$) (Velociraptor). http://www.andromeda.com/

Xaos Tools (Paint Alchemy) ($$$). http://www.xaostools.com/

New in 4.0:

better layers usage rulers and guides progressive JPEG PNG format

dynamic rebuild of font list script recording watermarks

4. Examples used.

Examples are both graphics created from scratch and editing of existing images.

some basic manipulations, or, being a bad boy with the ice queen. - part 1.

· use ice-queen image, already saved as a GIF.

· image>adjust>invert. undo. image>adjust>posterize (5 levels). undo.

· image>adjust>levels. image>adjust>variations.

· revert

· marquee (rectangular, alias=15). copy. new file. paste.

. marquee (rectangular). select>inverse. quick mask. filters>pilexlate>color halftone (15).

exit quick mask. select>inverse. copy and paste.

some basic manipulations, or, being a bad boy with the ice queen. - part 2.

· use ice-queen image, already saved as a GIF.

· filter>render>lens flare (right eve). filter>render>lens flare (left eye).

· image>adjust>replace color. sample lips, make violet.

· select lips (ellipse with aliasing). filter>distort>spherize.

· select nose (circle with aliasing). filter>distort>pinch.

simple drop shadow with text, or, all the children are above average.

· open new RGB window with white background.

· use letter tool to center Times (bold, 48 pt, one word per line) "all the children are above average".

· change color. image>adjust>hue/saturation to make it red.

· duplicate layer. shift down and right. reduce saturation. blur.

drop shadow with lighting, or, put yourself in the blue spotlight.

· open new RGB window with white background.

· use a script font to write your first name.

· duplicate layer. image>adjust>desaturate. move tool to shift down and right.

· filter>lighting. make circular spot centred on name. use blue omni light.

· export as GIF with reduced (32?) colors.

designing a button, or, a hurricane in 100 square pixels.

· record an action with stops and later play it back to create a new graphic.

· open an new 100x100 pixel window and apply a linear color gradient.

· filter>render>pinch (5 times). filter>render>twirl (3 times).

colorizing a black and white image, or, Rob Hare as guinea pig.

· open PICT from QuickCam. marquee. image>crop. image>mode>grayscale.

· image>mode>grayscale. apply duotone colors. filter>sharpen.

· convert grayscale b&w to faux RGB color with image>adjust>curves

· selective color applied to the background. image>mode>RGB

enlarge 200%. lasso trace Rob. inverse. pick a color. bucket tool to apply to background.

· selective color applied to his bow tie. image>mode>RGB

enlarge 200%. lasso trace bow tie. image>adjust>bue/saturation (colorize, red).

tiling an image, or, the eyes have it.

· use the ice-queen image.

· select right eye. edit>define pattern. open new image. edit>fill>use pattern. image>adjust>levels.

composite images, or, flowerrs that never grew in your garden.

· use flowers-006.gif

· magic wand with tolerance of 128. copy and paste three times.

· colorize. adjust transparency. apply radial gradient.

· copy and paste and colorize hurricane button three times.

Conant Hall, or, even Cone Heads from France can use Kodak Photo CD.

· shot with Canon AE-1 on 35 mm film with 135 mm telephoto lens.

· developed to Kodak PhotoCD. look at detail in highest resolution (2048x3072)

· experiment with tools to burn/dodge/clone. · pixelate the entry light.

my current favorite Web graphic, or, what would Grace Murray Hopper say?

· poster for the 1997 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

5. Online references

http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/photoshop/main.html !Adobe Photoshop

http://www.adobe.com/photodeluxe/ !Adobe Photodeluxe

http://www.adobemag.com/ !Adobe Magazine

http://www.andyart.com/photoshop/index.html !Andy's Art Attack tips

http://www.digimarc.com/ !digital watermarking

http://www.kodak.com/digitalImaging

/digitalImaging.shtml !Kodak

http://www-swiss.ai.mit.edu/philg/ !Philip Greenspun

http://www.killersites.com/ !David Siegel

http://www.lynda.com/ !Lynda Weinman

http://www.metacreations.com/ !MetaCreations.

http://www.tema.ru/p/h/o/t/o/s/h/o/p/ !Lebedev's tips

http://www.visi.com/~drozone/handson/index.html !Dr.Ozone hands-on

http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet

/Software/Graphics/Titles/Adobe_Photoshop !Yahoo Photoshop links

http://the-tech.mit.edu/KPT/KPT.html !Kai's Power Tips

6. Books:

There are many good Photoshop books. The Adobe User Guide covers all the basics. Supplement that with one or more books, such as McClelland or Lai and Simsic, to get more examples and for tips and recipies to create special effects.

Adobe Systems Inc., [1966], Adobe Photoshop Version 4.0 User Guide,

Adobe Systems, paper, part no. 0397-1879(9/96)

David Lai and Greg Simsic, [1997], Photoshop 4.0 Type Magic 1,

Hayden Books, paper, $39.99 (with CD), ISBN:1-56830-380-7.

David Lai and Greg Simsic, [1996], Photoshop Type Magic 2,

Hayden Books, paper, $39.99 (with CD), ISBN:1-56830-329-7.

Deke McClelland, [1997], MacWorld Photoshop 4 Bible,

IDG Books Worldwide, paper, $49.99 (with CD), ISBN:0-76454-005-X.

jim .cerny@unh.edu stop me before i click again!

rev. 03-NOV-1997