Professional Documents
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AdobePhotoshop
Every tool explained!
Unleash the full power behind every
icon in the Photoshop toolbar
S
tart up Photoshop and what do you see? Well,
besides the menu options along the top of the
screen, you’ll see a Toolbar that’s chock-a-block
with icons. You’ll probably recognise some of these,
such as the ‘T’ that designates the Type tool and the
paintbrush icon that unlocks the various Brush tools.
But do you really know what the rest of these icons
mean? … Honestly? The chances are that – like many
Photoshop users across the world – you’re only using a
fraction of the program’s full potential, but this second
issue in the Photoshop Focus Guide series will change
all that, helping you make the most of all the tools at
your disposal.
Even professional designers often admit to being
hopeless with the Healing Brush and dodgy with the
Dodge tool, but there’s really no reason for any of the
tools to be a mystery. This issue will help you get more
from the Clone, Gradient, Paths and Effects tools, to
name but a few. You’ll find expert tips and advice for
working more efficiently with each of the tools, as well
as tutorials to demonstrate exactly how to carry out
useful image-editing tasks. In the final section you’ll
find a step-by-step guide that brings together all the
skills you’ve learnt, showing how to create a striking
Photoshop image.
And let’s not forget the CD that
accompanies your Focus
Guide. On here you’ll
find a library of stock
images (worth £1,990),
plug-ins and video training
tutorials to enhance your
enjoyment of Photoshop
further still!
Have fun!
Overseas Distribution by
Future Publishing Ltd.
Printed in the EU
All contents © Future Publishing Ltd, 2003 We recommend that you always maintain
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a an up-to-date backup of your hard disk data.
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loss to your data or computer system that
None of the information in this guide is intended as legal advice.The articles are
for information purposes only. may occur while carrying out procedures
described in this publication.
Shortcuts
Carrying out common tasks again and again can
get a little tedious. Our handy shortcuts show you
how to carry out these tasks with a few deft
key-presses, saving you lots of time and effort.
CONTENTS
1
Selections
2
Navigation and manipulation
3
Brushes and Pencil tools
5
Gradients, Fills and Erasing
6
Effects Tools
7
Text
8
Vectors
9
Miscellaneous tools and Utilities
10
Artwork project
Essential information
CD PAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
GLOSSARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
SELECTION
TOOLS IN
PHOTOSHOP
In this chapter… Making selections is the core of Photoshop’s
D i s cove r h ow t h e way of working.There are a variety of tools you
Photoshop selection
tools work can use for the purpose, so let’s take a look at
Le a r n h ow t o m a ke
a c c u ra t e s e l e c t i o n s
how to get the most out of them
Create partial or
gradient selections
Page 12 The Circular Marquee tool Page 13 Single Column marquees are Page 15 The Magnetic Lasso lets you
makes an elliptical selection used to select only certain columns make detailed selections with ease
Page 17 The Magic Wand tool selects an Page 18 Quick mask mode turns any Page 20 Photoshop can convert
object in an image to change the colour painting tool into a selection tool channels into selections and vice-versa
Poly-gone
T he Lasso tool is a free-form
selection tool. You can use it
like a pen to draw your selection
When using the border by hand. When using the
Polygonal Lasso Lasso tool selections can be any
holding down the shape you like, but it can be hard to
[Alt] key invokes the be precise because selection must be
normal Lasso tool. drawn in a single motion. The
Releasing the [Alt] key
Polygonal Lasso is much easier to
reverts back to the
Polygonal Lasso.
use, and can be found in the Lasso Using the [Alt] key technique allows you the best
tool pop-up in the toolbar. This of both worlds, drawing straight sections or
detailed curves as and when you need to
enables you to click from one point
to another to create straight line or click on the starting point of the
segments to make up your selection. selection to end it and consequently
All you need to do is double-click, close your selection.
Combined Lasso
LASSO OPTIONS ROUNDED UP
With the Lasso tool THERE ARE two ways in which to work using the [Alt] shortcut.
active, just hold down Assuming you have the normal Lasso tool selected, if you keep the [Alt]
the [Alt] key at any key held down when you click and drag, the tool will behave like the
stage to turn it into the normal Lasso.
Polygonal Lasso.
IF YOU want to get really precise, then the Magnetic Lasso is the key.
With this selection tool you can draw close to the edge of the object you
wish to select and the tool will figure out where the boundary should be
and adjust the selection to fit.
YOU CAN set the Frequency high to place lots of points as you drag.
This can be handy for jagged edges.
A LOW Frequency is also useful when you don’t need the added
complexity of hundreds of anchor points, but can make do with a
less precise selection.
Quick Mask
Quick Mask is not a tool as such, but a mode
you can enter when working with selections
When any selection is active, no matter
1 which of the selection tools you started
off using, you can enable Photoshop’s Quick
Mask mode. Here is a less-than-perfect
Fill the gaps selection we have made using the Magic Wand.
Holes in a Mask or
Quick Mask can be
filled by selecting the
inside or outside area
and applying the
Minimum filter.
By clicking the Quick Mask button at
2 the bottom of the toolbar, or pressing
the [Q] key, the selection is converted to a
mask. The mask is displayed, not in shades of
grey, but as a semi-transparent overlay. This
mimics the techniques used in traditional
printing where a red ‘rubylith’ overlay is used
to mask out parts of a photo or artwork.
Slices
Slices are special kinds of selections for web
page design, before the Image Ready stage
Here’s an example of where slicing can
1 really help. This is an example web page,
containing text, a background, a photographic
image and graphics created in Photoshop.
Obviously, for the web we want the page to Reassembled slices
download as fast as possible but also look as When you save the
good a possible. sliced page Photoshop
creates an HTML file
plus separate image files
for each slice.When the
HTML file is read by a
The problem here is that the different web browser all the
2 kinds of graphics element on the page
slices are reassembled in
really need to be saved individually using the
their original position,
compression settings best suited to each.
We can’t do this without using slices in giving the appearance
Photoshop. As this pretty extreme example of a single image
shows, achieving a small file size causes most once again.
of the elements to look terrible.
NAVIGATING
AND EDITING
YOUR IMAGES
In this chapter…
Le a r n h ow t o p a n a n d
Getting around inside an image is important if
zoom images you are to work quickly and efficiently.This
D i s cove r h ow t o s e l e c t
a n d m ove l a y e r
chapter covers the view navigation tools and
elements
shortcuts for managing your workspace
U s e s h o r t c u t s t o s ca l e
and pan the view
Wo r k m o r e e f f i c i e n t l y
a n d p r o d u c t i ve l y
Page 24 Use the Zoom and Pan tools Page 25 The Navigation palette is great Page 26 Manage your screen space
to navigate your images on screen for giving an overview of the whole page when multiple documents are open
Page 28 The Move tool enables you to Page 29 Quick 3D effects are possible Page 31 Use the Direct Selection and
navigate your layers with a pop-up menu using the Move tool in copy mode Path tools to work with paths and vectors
View management
Photoshop has several gadgets to help you
work with various views of your document
Floating away
T he main interface in Photoshop
is quite simple and well laid-
out, but it has been constantly
The floating palettes
can get in that way, refined through development to
especially if you are offer highly efficient document and
working on a small view management. Within the main
monitor. No matter, at menu is the View menu which has
any time you can hit many view management options –
the [F] key to toggle the Zoom In and Out commands and
the display mode to
their respective shortcuts, as well as Multiple documents can be arranged on the
full screen. Use the screen using Tile, in Windows > Documents. This
commands to show the Rulers,
Tab key to toggle the fits your images next to each other on screen
palettes on and off to Guides and Grids and the option to
get a totally enable various kinds of snapping. [Ctrl]+[+] and [Ctrl]+[–] to zoom in
uncluttered view. As well as using the Navigator or and out (Mac users replace [Ctrl]
Zoom tool you can use the shortcuts with [Command]).
ZOOMING AROUND
When the Zoom tool is The Navigator panel is
active the Options bar grouped with the Info
displays a few extra buttons – palette. Use the navigator to
Actual Pixels, Fit On Screens perform multiple view
and Print Size. These zoom navigation tasks in one area,
the view to specific sizes. with one hand. You also get a
handy image preview.
USING THE
BRUSHES AND
PENCIL TOOLS
In this chapter…
Using the Brush and
This chapter introduces you to Photoshop’s
Pe n c i l t o o l s more arty tools, the Brushes. However, as we’ll
Editing and saving
brush properties
see, you can use these versatile tools for far
Creating custom more than just painting
brush tips
Page 34 Photoshop’s brush editing Page 35 Access Photoshop’s hidden Page 36 Learn about the importance of
system gets the most from Brush tools extras for more versatility Spacing, Flow and Opacity for brushes
Page 41 Dual Brushes offer the user Page 43 The History Brush offers Page 45 The Art History Brush allows
unprecedented levels of detail superb photo manipulation options you to turn an image into a painting
that takes the basic Photoshop time. These will not ‘fall off the
functions and multiplies their back’ like items in the undo list
capabilities tenfold. The History would when the list exceeded the
palette essentially adds a kind of number of steps set in the
non-linear undo to the program. Preferences. However all this power
Previously undo was limited to just and flexibility comes at a cost:
hopping back step-by-step. The disk space. The History states can
History palette displays all your consume very large amounts of
operations (up to a maximum ‘scratch disk’ space, the random
number that you specify) in a list, storage bin that Photoshop uses as a
complete with the tool used and its kind of virtual memory.
icon. By clicking on any of these
steps you can immediately jump Performance figures
straight back to the document as it Keep a large amount of hard disk
was at that point in time. space free for Photoshop – as much
Even more impressive is the as 2 to 4GB if working on large
ability to store permanent snapshots images. Ideally, partition your disk
of the state of the document at any and dedicate one part to Photoshop.
Using Brushes
There is a huge range of customisable and
preset brushes. Here’s how to use them
Once you select the Brush tool you can
1 choose a Brush Shape from the Brush
preset drop-down menu in the Options bar.
Each preset is saved at a given size, indicated
below the brush preview icon in the preset The key to opacity
list. You can alter this by dragging the master You can also reduce
diameter slider. opacity using the
numeric key pad.
Pressing the 0 key sets
the opacity to 100%,
while pressing the [5]
The Opacity of the brush defines how key sets the opacity to
2 transparent the paint is – that is, how 50%. Pressing the [1]
much of the colour underneath shows numeric key sets the
through the paint. By default it is set to 100%, opacity to 10%
but you can reduce this using the Opacity
and so on.
slider in the Options bar.
More shortcuts
On this month’s CD
you’ll find PDF files
In order to counteract this effect, you
that contain all the 7 need to use an even lower Flow setting.
possible keyboard Here the flow has been reduced to 3% for a
shortcuts for both PCs 5% spacing value. You can see that the strokes
and Apple Macs. . appear much smoother and build nicely as we
apply more paint.
Scattering
Scattering is a great way of adding random
brush strokes to images. Here’s how it works
The Scattering section is great fun. This
1 adds a random scattering of the dabs
and is a great way to add random, organic
strokes to images. The Scatter slider controls
Better late the amount of scattering perpendicular to the
than never stroke direction.
Brushes in later
versions of Photoshop
have more options to
control their behaviour.
If you’re using an older
version you may find When the Both Axes option is enabled
2 the scattering takes place perpendicular
that some of the
to the stroke and along it. Most of the time
features that we’ve
you’d leave this option off, unless you want a
mentioned do very randomized stroke, almost like a spray.
not apply.
USING THE
CLONING AND
HEALING TOOLS
In this chapter…
Le a r n h ow t o w i e l d t h e
The Cloning and Healing tools in Photoshop
Clone tool (Rubber
S t a m p ) l i ke a p r o
offer an elegant way to fix damaged photos,
Using blending modes
correct bad scans and generally clean up
to get better results
when cloning difficult
your images.They’re great fun to use too
t e x t u r e s l i ke s k i n
Le a r n h ow t o c l o n e
p i xe l s b e t w e e n
documents
Wo r k i n g w i t h t h e
H e a l i n g a n d Pa t c h
C loning is a very simple and
obvious concept in image
manipulation. Take pixels from over
tip shapes, dynamics and blending
modes, but applies these to cloning.
In addition to these the Clone tool
t o o l s t o i m p r ove
p o r t ra i t s a n d p h o t o s
here and duplicate them over there. lets you clone not only pixels from a
That’s really all there is to it. The single layer but from the whole of a
Pe r f o r m s p e c i a l
Clone tool, also known as the multi-layered document. This can be
effects and image
manipulation tricks Rubber Stamp, is Photoshop’s a very powerful feature for advanced
using Cloning implementation of this technique users but can cause problems if you
and offers you a great deal of power don’t keep your wits about you.
for retouching images.
The tool works by ‘sampling’ Seamless sampling
pixels at one location in an image, When sampling pixels from a multi-
or even in a different document layered, composite image you must
altogether, and painting them in a be aware of any Adjustment layers
different location using what is present. If you sample a composite
essentially a brush. The Clone tool image with say, a Hue/Saturation
offers most of the properties of the Adjustment layer applied to it,
normal Brush tool – size, hardness, boosting the saturation, cloning on
Cloning and Healing tools
Page 48 Cloning copies parts of your Page 49 The Clone tool can remove Page 50 Less-than-perfect portraits
image and transplants them elsewhere unwanted parts of an image can be fixed up in seconds
Page 51 Revive damaged photos and Page 52 The new Healing tool can Page 53 The Healing Patch tool is a
images with cloning techniques make someone look years younger great way to fix up photos
to layers below this adjustment layer Healing, however, lets you clone
will result in the cloned pixels being pixels over a problem area but rather
boosted twice. If your intention is to than simply overlaying them, as the
have a seamless result, your hopes Clone tool does, it blends them with
will be dashed, so it always pays to those they are replacing, using some
be aware of this. clever algorithms.
In version 7 of Photoshop, Adobe
introduced a tool that takes the Skin care
concept of cloning to the next level As you may have guessed, the
in terms of ease of use, known as the upshot of such technology is that
Healing tool. Cloning is a great tool you don’t need to be nearly so
to have but as we saw earlier, it can careful in your cloning – when
take some effort to get a seamless blending the blemishes on the face
result, especially when the sample of a subject in a portrait, for
point pickings are slim and when example. The Healing tool will
dealing with multi-layered images. intelligently blend the pixels to get
It can take quite a bit of practice to the best result (at least most of the
achieve smooth results. time), which works well on skin.
Cloning Skin
You can fix problem portraits in seconds using
the Clone tool and its subtle blending mode
WITH BOTH methods try to keep the sample point as close as you can
to the problem area to minimize the difference in skin tone.
THE GRADIENT,
FILL AND
ERASER TOOLS
In this chapter…
Le a r n t o u s e a n d
Once you get more competent with
co n t r o l G ra d i e n t s Photoshop you’ll appreciate the importance of
Create Custom
G ra d i e n t s, u s i n g t h e
these utility tools.The Gradient tool in particular
g ra d i e n t e d i t i n g
features in Photoshop 7 is essential for all manner of tricks and effects
U s e t h e Pa i n t B u c ke t
tool to fill areas with
a co l o u r, p a t t e r n
or history
U s e G ra d i e n t s a n d
Fi l l s f o r s p e c i a l e f f e c t s
and image
manipulation
G radients and Fills are such
simple tools in Photoshop that
their simplicity can often hide their
that gradually changes colour.
Gradients come in all kinds of
different shapes: Linear, Radial,
Re m ove a s u b j e c t f r o m
power, especially in the hands of an Angular, Reflected and Diamond,
i t s b a c kg r o u n d u s i n g experienced Photoshop user. and this makes them very useful for
t h e B a c kg r o u n d a n d A Fill is simply a way to pour a a variety of different situations.
M a g i c E ra s e r t o o l s
single flat colour, pattern or history The Gradient Editing feature in
state into a selected area, or the Photoshop enables you to create
whole canvas. Like most of the tools gradients with two or more colours.
in Photoshop, there is more than one You can have a simple white-to-
way in which to accomplish a Fill; black gradient, or a whole rainbow
we’ll explore some of these different of colours. For special effects work
techniques later on in this chapter. the simple black and white gradient
is absolutely indispensable, putting
Gradual benefits a whole range of additional options
The Gradient options are even at your disposal. For example, if you
more powerful than Fills. With the want an effect to smoothly fade
Gradient tool you can create a fill from full strength to invisible then
Gradients, Fills and Erasing
Page 56 Learn how to fill colours in an Page 57 Fill with 50% grey for special Page 59 We look at the Gradient tool
image using the Paint Bucket tool effects and image enhancement and its various options
Page 62 Use gradients and blending Page 64 Blend two or more image Page 66 Learn how to avoid the pitfalls
layers to simulate photographic filters layers together with Gradients of the Background Eraser tool
Fetching patterns
T he Paint Bucket enables you
to fill areas using a tolerance
setting like the Magic Wand tool.
Custom fill patterns can It also has settings to fill contiguous
be found on the web. pixels – or not, as the case may be.
Here’s the address of a Enabling the Contiguous mode in
site where you can the Paint Bucket tool’s Options bar
download free (this is the default setting) only fills
Photoshop patterns:
pixels that are both within the
http://graphicssoft.about.
com/library/free/
tolerance and physically connected The difference between the smooth anti-aliased
fill (green) and the jagged non-anti-aliased fill
blfree_pspatterns1.htm in the image. Disabling this mode (pink) is quite obvious in this close-up
causes the Paint Bucket to search
over the whole image for pixels means that the edges of the fill are
similar to the one that you click on. smoothly anti-aliased to remove any
The Anti-aliasing option simply unsightly jagged edges.
FILLING TIPS
Keep it cool YOU CAN fill using the current foreground colour by typing [Alt]+
Fills and patterns are
[Delete]. Typing [Ctrl]+[Delete] (or [Command]+[Delete] for Mac users)
useful for creating
will fill using the current background colour. Pressing the [D] key reverts
backdrops for web
the colour to the default black and white.
pages. Be careful
though, because ANOTHER WAY to fill is using the Edit > Fill menu command. This has a
patterned backgrounds few extras, such as a pop-up menu for choosing to fill with either White,
can be very distracting, Black, Foreground or Background colour, or the handy ‘50% Grey’.
so keep them as subtle
as possible. THE FILL Command also enables you to fill using the earmarked
history state in the History palette. You can furthermore set it to Pattern
mode and choose a pattern from within the Fill dialog.
Gradient Styles
The Linear gradient is only one of five styles.
We’ll look at the others and see what they offer
At the top of the Gradient tool’s Options
1 bar next to the preset pop-up are the
Gradient Styles. Linear is the default, but next
to it is the Radial style. Selecting this creates
a radial gradient using the selected preset. Turn it around
The first point you click is the center of the The invert button in the
gradient, dragging outwards to the edges. Options bar reverses
the direction of the
colours in the gradient.
Gradient Masks
Use a simple black and white gradient in a
layer mask for creating composite images
One very popular use of the Gradient
1 tool is to make one image blend
smoothly into another. Here are two images
that we want to composite, by blending one
Application gradually into the other.
options
You can apply masks
to adjustment layers as
well as normal image
layers. So we could
have applied the levels
as an adjustment layer One image is copied into the other by
2 dragging its layer from the Layers
using the same
palette over the other’s image window and
gradient trick to mask
releasing the mouse. The sky image is scaled
out its effect on the roughly to fit using the Free Transform tool.
lower part of
the image.
Background
Turning off the Contiguous option details
5 might improve matters. This makes Like the Magic Wand,
the tool search the whole image for similar the Background Eraser
colours, rather than just examining pixels has a Tolerance setting
that are connected to the starting point. but also Limits and
Unfortunately we end up losing most of our Sampling Method
dog as well when we try this method. options. Continuous
lets you sample as you
paint, while the Once
option samples only
on the first click.
Using the Background Eraser tool
6 (you’ll find it in the Eraser tool group in Background Swatch
the sixth row of the toolbar) results in a more lets you save a colour
controllable method of chopping the pooch to use as the sample.
out of his environment. The tool is brush-
based, so you simply paint away to remove
the background.
GETTING TO
KNOW THE
EFFECTS TOOLS
In this chapter…
Blur or sharpen parts
Photoshop’s effects tools include Blur, Sharpen,
of an image using the
‘ f o c u s’ t o o l s
Smudge, Dodge and Burn.We’ll look at how
Create finger-painting
best to use them to spice up your artwork,
effects or blend
co l o u r s u s i n g t h e
composites and photographic images
Smudge tool
Create better
co m p o s i t e i m a g e s
u s i n g ‘e x p o s u r e’ t o o l s
M a ke y o u r s u b j e c t
stand out with Dodge
and Burn effects
W hen it comes down to it,
Photoshop is mostly about
effects. Be it a simple vignette, a
respects, but do so in a more
artistically controllable way.
Essentially these are brush-based
crop or even an image enhancement, filters, allowing you to ‘paint’ the
what you are really doing is creating effects just where you need them.
some kind of effect to spice up an
image. Photoshop’s filters offer you Focus and exposure
a broad palette of effects, which can Effect tools are in two different
be applied to images, both very groups. The ‘focus’ tools are in the
subtly or dramatically. Combine seventh row of the toolbar in
filters with selections and masks, Photoshop 7 and consist of the
layers and blending modes and you Blur, Sharpen and Smudge tools.
have a cornucopia of digital tricks ‘Exposure’ tools are directly to the
that can improve an image no end. right of this and contain the Dodge,
Photoshop also has a small group Burn and Sponge tools. Click and
of effects-based tools which work in hold on the groups to reveal all the
a similar way to the filters and tools in that group. You’ll also note
adjustment features in many that next to each tool is a letter. This
Effects Tools
Page 70 The Blur tool works by blurring Page 71 Decreasing the brush spacing Page 72 Maximise the usefulness of the
the pixels in an image, to varying intensity allows for a more intense Blur effect Sharpen tool, with its blending modes
Page 73 The Smudge tool lets you Page 75 Dodge and Burn adjust pixel Page 79 Focus in on an object within an
apply paint with a finger-painting effect contrast and brightness by painting them image by Burning the background
is the tool’s shortcut key, and there The ‘exposure’ tools – Dodge,
is one for almost every tool in Burn and Sponge also let you paint
Photoshop’s toolbar. Pressing that their effects onto an image directly.
key will activate the respective tool These tools produce effects similar
no matter what else is selected. to the Adjustment tools like Levels,
The ‘focus’ tools – Blur and Curves and Hue/Saturation.
Sharpen – allow you to apply these
filter-like effects directly to pixels in Shadow play
the image using any of Photoshop’s Using the exposure tools is an
brushes – including the complex, excellent way of producing photo-
customisable brush shapes. But most realistic composites. The tools
of the time you’ll find it best to use enable you to paint additional
these tools with a normal, soft, shadows or highlights in precisely
round brush. The Smudge tool works the right areas, to give composited
in a slightly different way, however, elements the correct shading. The
and we’ll look at how to use that shadows will then look like they
particular tool more closely later in really belong there – which is just
the chapter. the effect you’re after.
The ‘focus’tools
The ‘focus’tools are simple to use when you
understand how they work. Let’s explore them
The Blur tool can be selected from the
1 seventh row of the toolbar or with the a
shortcut key [R]. Simply put, you can use this
tool to soften edges and detail in an image by
Pop-up palette painting over it.
You can also pop up the
brushes preset palette
by right-clicking in the
image window. Mac
users will need to hold
down [Ctrl] and click.
The tool uses the normal brushes
2 interface and preset menu, accessible
from the Options bar as usual. Most of the
time you’ll be using the Blur tool with just a
normal, round, soft brush rather than
anything fancy.
THE SMUDGE tool can take a lot of computation, especially for large
brushes. If your computer is grinding to a halt, try reducing the brush size.
MAKING USE of the blending modes can be a lot of fun. For example,
Lighten mode can create glowing swirls and streaks on an image.
Toggle tools
U sing the Dodge and Burn
tools is quite simple but you
need to take into account certain
Use the [Alt] key to things, in order to get the best
toggle between the results. The Dodge and Burn tools
Dodge and Burn tools are often used to add shading to
as you work.There’s no elements in a composite image so
need to stop and switch that they match the background or
tools manually.
other elements in the image.
Look for shadows in the image to The direction of the light cast on other elements
or in the background image, determines where
find out where the main light is to apply effects with the Dodge and Burn tools
coming from. Highlights – parts of
the object in direct illumination – Midtones mode, while shadows can
can be added by painting with the be painted on with the Burn tool in
Dodge tool in Highlight and/or Shadows and/or Midtones mode.
WORKING WITH
THE TYPE TOOL
IN PHOTOSHOP
In this chapter…
U s i n g t h e Ty p e t o o l
Creating text in Photoshop is quite easy to do,
a n d Ty p e l a y e r s whether it’s for artistic effect or simply to add
Creating type effects
with Layer Styles
essential information.We’ll look at the various
Managing, transforming options available with the Type tool
and distorting type
Page 82 Older versions created text as Page 83 Type layers in Photoshop 6 Page 84 Get to grips with the idea of
selections. Photoshop 7 is more flexible and above can be edited at any time different kinds of anti-aliasing for text
Page 84 Learn how to distort vector Page 87 The Warp Text palette lets Page 89 Use Layer Styles with live layers
text in later versions of Photoshop you distort your type any way you like to create rich and varied text effects
and they will never degrade. It is the used in order to convert the flowing
vector paths that are altered, and the lines of the vector paths into the
rasterization is performed at the end. rows of square, coloured pixels in a
You’ll always have crisp, clean type, normal image layer. To be honest,
until the Photoshop document is printing type as true vectors is only
saved as a flattened image or printed. important when producing the
highest quality artwork for printing
Pixel perfect on professional printers. Because of
The other consequence is that you this it only works when out-putting
can, if you wish, decide to keep the CMYK separations from Photoshop.
text as vectors if you print to a
postscript printer. This means that Note: Rasterization is the process of
the type is printed at the highest converting vectors and paths into
possible quality and is never ‘raster’ images, made up of pixels.
converted to pixels. Even perfectly Once a type layer is rasterized it
rasterized type will print slightly loses any of its special editable
fuzzy at the edges. This is because properties and becomes just an
of the necessary anti-aliasing that is ordinary pixel-based layer.
Computer Arts
To discover even more
ways to develop your Furthermore, if you wanted to edit the
Photoshop skills, check
4 mask, to make it smaller or larger, distort
out our sister magazine, it and so on, then the quality of the edge
Computer Arts. pixels will deteriorate even further. After just a
www.computerarts.co.uk few transformations the edges become fuzzy.
Type Options
The Type tool’s Options bar is one of
the most feature-packed in Photoshop
Cycling fonts
T he familiar Options bar in
Photoshop 7 is home to the
Type tool’s Options and Properties.
The Font field can be As with all tools the first entry at the
scrolled through to view
alternative fonts, just like the top-left is the tool preset picker
Font Size field. Just place pop-up, from which you can select
your cursor in it and using
the Up/Down arrow keys. preset tool settings, or reset the tool
to default. Next is the Horizontal/
Vertical Type toggle, followed by the
Font drop-down menu, Font Style The Type Anti-aliasing feature controls how
smooth the edges of your type is. It’s more
and Font Size drop-downs. noticeable on small type that on larger type.
The next menu is the Anti-aliasing
control. This is an interesting feature fly. The options are None, Sharp,
because it enables you to change the Crisp, Strong and Smooth and range
edge anti-aliasing of your text on the from sharpest to smoothest.
Rasterizing type
In order to apply normal Photoshop effects
to type, you’ll need to rasterize it first
Flatten it
B ecause type layers are vector-
based you cannot apply pixel-
based effects to them. So you can’t
All non-pixel layers use filters or paint on them directly,
can be rasterized in and you can’t apply adjustments to
Photoshop, using the them to change their colour or
appropriate brightness. You can get around these
commands in the problems by adding an adjustment
Layers menu.
layer above your type layer, but
you’ll also need a mask if you only
Rasterized type layers act like bitmap layers,
want the adjustment applied to the because that’s just what they are. This type has
text and not to the layers below. been rasterized, blurred and adjusted with levels.
You can change the blending especially over image layers. But
modes of type layers, which results to really get stuck into text layers
in some interesting type effects, you’ll need to rasterize them.
Styled Type
Layer Styles can be used to create
stunning type effects for any occasion
With a type layer selected in the Layers
1 palette you can select Layers > Layer
Styles and choose an option from the
sub-menu to apply that style to the text.
In this case a simple drop-shadow has been Quick colour
applied. The Layer Styles panel will change
automatically pop open. The Colour Overlay
section of the Layer
Styles palette can be
used to quickly change
the colour of your text
To create text with a bit of relief you can without changing
2 use the Bevel and Emboss options to
to the Type tool
add depth to your text. It helps if the text is
and selecting it.
not set to 100% white or black, because the
Bevel and Emboss effects add black and white
shading to create the illusion of depth.
WORKING WITH
PATHS,VECTORS
AND MASKS
In this chapter…
Le a r n h ow t o u s e t h e
Photoshop has always used vector-based
Pe n t o o l t o d ra w p a t h s ‘paths’ to draw smooth shapes and outlines,
Le a r n h ow t o c u t o u t
objects using paths
but the latest version has the ability to create
a n d co n ve r t t h e m t o
s e l e c t i o n s, a n d
shapes and masks with vectors too
v i ce - ve r s a
Le a r n t o u s e Ve c t o r
Shapes and imported
ve c t o r a r t w o r k
V ectors are totally different
from pixels: vectors are
mathematically defined lines and
Photoshop has limited capabilities
when it comes to saving vector-only
files but you can include vector
curves, which you can use to draw information in a normal Photoshop
perfectly smooth shapes and file. While this means file sizes
outlines. Whereas a shape made up won’t be quite as small as they
of pixels has a definite size and would be with a true vector-based
resolution, vectors can be of any size program, you will still get all the
or resolution – they are said to advantages of a vector’s scalability.
‘resolution independent’.
Furthermore a vector-based image Various vectors
will be a very small file when saved In Photoshop, vectors come in
to disk, compared to a pixel-based different varieties: first, there’s the
bitmap image. The same file could Pen tool, which is used to create
be used to make a 128x128 pixel ‘Paths’ (Photoshop’s traditional
web graphic, or a 5000x5000 pixel name for vectors) but there are also
poster. The quality will be perfect in Vector Shapes; these are a new
both situations. feature that appears in later versions
Vectors
Page 92 Learn how to use paths and Page 93 Use the Freestyle Pen tool to Page 94 Use the Convert tool to alter
work with the Paths palette sketch paths the control points
Page 95 Add Shape Layers to the layer Page 97 Set overlapping vector shapes Page 99 Apply Layer Styles directly
stack when you create a vector shape to different Boolean modes to Shape Layers
of Photoshop which you can use in shapes and imported artwork into
their own special layers, instead of complex painted graphics with the
relegating them to the Paths palette. richness of pixel-based brushes.
Paths were an alternative method
for creating selections in Photoshop, Shape your behaviour
since a path can be loaded as a Vector shapes behave like layer
selection once it’s been drawn. This masks, blocking and revealing parts
makes them ideal for cutting out of the layer to which they are
complicated shapes, such as when applied. You can edit them with the
you’re removing an object from its Pen tool or the Direct Selection tool,
background – useful when the and they offer a further level of
background is complex and it has functionality for the program.
become difficult to select using the Photoshop is not a fully-fledged
selection tools. vector-drawing application such as
Paths can also be ‘stroked’, Illustrator, Freehand or Corel Draw,
making them an alternative painting and probably never will be, but there
tool. Stroking a path with a brush is is surprisingly good support for
a fun way of turning plain vector vector drawing in Photoshop.
Vector Shapes
Vector Shapes are new to later versions of
Photoshop – here’s what they do
Masks
A bit of detail about masking to help you get
the most out of vector layers and masks
Layer Folders
A Layer Folder (aka
‘Layer Set’) can
actually hold two
P hotoshop has more masks than
you might realise. There is an
additional mask in each layer
You can also group layers together
into a ‘clipping group’ by [Alt]+
clicking between them on the
masks: a normal layer
(besides the background layer, which separator in the Layers palette – the
mask and a vector
is always 100% opaque) that you cursors will change to overlapping
mask, giving you
potential access to don’t usually see. This is because circles indicating clipping group
four different masks. it’s the layer itself, or rather the mode, and clicking will cause the
surrounding transparent pixels. uppermost layer to be indented.
If you paint on a transparent layer, The layer will be masked using the
the brush stroke is surrounded by bottom layer’s Layer Transparency
transparent pixels. The pixels in the Mask, and its Layer Mask and its
layer are a mask in their own right. Vector Mask, if these are present.
This can be proved because you can This enables you to quickly mask
load it as a selection by [Ctrl/ multiple layers using a single layer
Command]+clicking the layer icon. or vector mask, and is very useful.
ANNOTATIONS,
NOTES AND THE
MEASURE TOOL
In this chapter…
Ad d N o t e s a n d
Along with the creative tools, Photoshop
Annotations to your
Photoshop documents
provides several tools to add accuracy, sound
Learn which file formats
and vision to your work.These fall into two tool
work with Notes and
Annotations
groups – notation and measurement tools
U s e t h e Ey e D r o p p e r
t o o l t o s a m p l e co l o u r s
from an image
Page 102 Add notes to images to use Page 103 Sound clips can be added to Page 105 Choose the foreground or
as a handy reminder later on images, with a microphone backround colour with the Eye Dropper
Page 105 Sampling options can read Page 106 The Colour Sample tool puts Page 107 Use the Measure tool to help
the perceived colour from a noisy image up to four sample points on an image straighten out crooked images and scans
professionally with colour, but are values in the Info palette. This can
also very useful on a day-to-day be extremely useful when making
basis for any Photoshop user. The colour adjustments because the Info
Eye Dropper can be accessed in palette displays the original values
various ways in Photoshop. For both of the sampled pixels and the
instance, when the Colour Picker is adjusted values.
open, if you move your cursor off the
Colour Picker panel and over the Colour by numbers
image, the cursor automatically The great advantage of these colour
changes to an Eye Dropper, enabling measurement tools is that you don’t
you to sample the colour of any need to rely on your eye or the
pixel. The tool can also be toggled on dubious colour characteristics of
and off by holding down the [Alt] your computer monitor. Instead, you
key when a Brush tool is selected. can see the exact values numerically.
The Colour Sampler is like the This accuracy is a real bonus for
Eye Dropper tool on steroids. You professional printing needs, but also
can sample a maximum of four for achieving good results on a home
points simultaneously and read their colour photo printer.
CREATING
TOP QUALITY
ARTWORK
In this chapter… In this final chapter we’ll put together a piece
S e e h ow P h o t o s h o p’s of artwork using all the tools and options that
t o o l s ca n b e u s e d t o
co n s t r u c t a co m p l e x , we’ve looked at over the course of this
montage-based
illustration Photoshop Focus Guide
Le a r n t h e t r i c k s o f t h e
t ra d e t o c r e a t e m o r e
professional-looking
P
artwork
hotoshop has many uses, interface makes Photoshop as easy
Combine tools to get ranging from film and to use for home dabblers as it is for
the best results in the
shortest time
television graphics, to 3D texturing, the professional artist.
to web design, to colour correction
and printing. All are different, yet Creating illustrations
Photoshop has the toolset to enable Another use for Photoshop is
artists working in totally different creating incredible works of art
disciplines to get the best results and illustrations. These may be
from their work. hand-painted, some composite of
Photoshop is also a superb photographic or 3D images, or some
photographer’s tool, providing wild combination of other media.
digital darkroom capabilities that In this last chapter we’ll be putting
are second to none. And with the together an illustration combining
proliferation of digital cameras photos with Photoshop filters,
available these days, the importance brushes and effects. We’ll need to
of Photoshop as a photographic tool draw on the skills and techniques
has never been greater. What’s more, learned in the rest of the book in
the ease of workflow and smart order to create this image, and you’ll
Artwork project
Page 110 Selecting and removing a Page 111 Paint away holes inside a Page 112 Reconstruct missing parts
background is tricky, but worth a try mask with the Brush tool of an image with the Clone tool
Page 113 Create duplicate brush Page 115 Seamlessly blend images Page 119 The illustration is completed
strokes by stroking a path over complex backgrounds with Vector Shapes and Type elements
see how the tools used are an has an ill-defined edge. Wispy hair
integral part of the creation process, is a classic case; it can be nearly
as well as facilitating the idea itself. impossible to extract this from a
As with any other program, you’ll background using Photoshop alone.
need to be aware of the limitations Indeed, there are a number of third
of Photoshop, or you could end up party plug-ins designed solely to
painting yourself into a corner. tackle this very problem.
Often you will need to think ahead
in order to progress smoothly. For Eggs and baskets
instance, it may be necessary, in Do not make the execution of a
concept, to remove a foreground difficult task pivotal in the creation
element from its background so of an image. It may not work, and
that it can be used in the artwork if it doesn’t, you’ll be left with
seamlessly. However, this can be a nowhere to turn. Photoshop is a
very difficult thing to do – arguably rich and varied system; explore it
the single most difficult task a thoroughly and remember any quirks
Photoshop artist can be faced with, you discover – you never know
especially if the object in question when you may need to use them.
Creating a montage
Now we can experiment with a montage
using all the techniques we’ve learned
Here’s the starting image for our
1 illustration/montage. It’s a straight
portrait of a model, with even lighting and
good all-round quality. It’s also at a high
Experimentation resolution of about 3,000 pixels.
Because this is a
creative exercise, we
can risk experimenting
with cutting out the
background, since
there may be a
creative solution We intend to apply as many Photoshop
2 tools as we can, while attempting to
to any problems
produce as artistic an image as we can.
we encounter.
Cutting out the background in such an image
can be tricky because of the wisps of hair. We
need to keep this in mind before we commit
to a total removal of the background.
Adding a background
We can add a colourful background in order to
provide more visual impact
The white background was just a
1 stand-in to enable us to see the effect of
the layer mask. We can replace it with a better
image, such as this. This is not a photo or a
painting, but a 3D render produced using Discard or apply?
some special focus rendering effect. When you discard a
mask by dragging it to
the trash, you are
prompted to discard or
apply the mask.
Choosing the option to
The render is dragged into the main Apply cuts away the
2 Photoshop illustration document by
masked pixels before
dragging its layer from the Layers palette and
the mask is deleted.
dropping it over the image. Placed below the
masked layer we can see the edges of the
original background more clearly.
Eve r y P h o t o s h o p
h o t key f o r P C a n d M a c
VIDEO TUTORIALS
The toolbar explained by Photoshop expert George Cairns
As well as the printed tutorials in this issue, George Cairns
has supplied a range of video tutorials covering a wide
variety of the tools available to Photoshop users. George will
take you through the basics of each tool, what they are
called, what they do, where they can be found as well as a
brief description of how to use them.
Watch and learn about the following essential tools: Blur tool,Brush
tool,Crop tool,Dodge and Burn tool,Erase tool,Eye Dropper tool,
Photoshop expert George Cairns takes
Gradient tool,Hand tool,Healing tool,History Brush tool,Lassoo
you through the tools of the trade in
tool,Magic Wand tool,Move tool,Note tool and Slice tool. our superb video tutorials
On your CD-ROM/DVD
PHOTOSHOP HOTKEYS
Over 250 keyboard shortcuts for just about any Photoshop task
The PDF documents on your disc, provided by GFX^TM,
contain every Photoshop 7.0 hotkey for both PC and Mac.
A hotkey is simply a keyboard shortcut that saves you
having to click through on-screen menus with your mouse.
While you may know that pressing [Ctrl]+[C] on your
keyboard is how you would copy a selection, for example,
you may not know that 'Fill from History and Preserve
Transparency' can be accessed by [Ctrl]+[Alt]+[Shift]+
[Backspace]. These indispensable documents catalogue over
There’s a wealth of Photoshop training
250 keyboard shortcuts and are a useful resource for
material and experience on the GFX^TM
Photoshop beginners and experienced users alike. website: www.user.fundy.net/morris
http://user.fundy.net/morris
Index
Turn straight to the information you need
with the help of our comprehensive index
A
Add Anchor Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Cloning skin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Feathering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Adjustment CMYK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 104 Fill tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56-58
(Levels, Curves and Hue/Saturation). 69, 71, 77 Color palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Finger Painting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Adjustment layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65, 77 Colour Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Flow setting for Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Adobe Illustrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80, 91 Colour Sampler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104, 106 Focus tools (Blur, Sharpen and Smudge)70-74
Alpha channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Colour Stops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Focus and Exposure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Annotation, Notes Contiguous option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 67 Foreground to Background,
and Measure tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100-107 Convert Anchor Point tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Transparent and Custom gradients . . . . . . 60
Anti-aliasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Corel Draw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Freehand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80, 91
Art History Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45, 118 Corel Painter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Auto measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Count Jitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 G
Creating a montage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110-111 Gaussian Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65, 111
B Creating Top Quality Artwork . . . . . . 108-119 Gradient, Fill and Eraser tools . . . . . . . . . 54-67
Backgrounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66-67, 115-117 Custom Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Gradient Masks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Bevelled and Embossed type . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Gradient Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Bézier handles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 92, 94 D Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54-65
Blending mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Darken mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Graphics tablet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Brush dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Delete Anchor Point tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Brush hardness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Destination mode in Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 H
Brush shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Direct and Path Selection tools . . . . . . . 30-31 Healing Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51-53
Brush tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Healing Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51, 114
Brushes and Pencil tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-45 Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-76, 78, 79,113 Healing Patch tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52-53
Brushes – customisable, preset . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Dual Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Highlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78, 79
Brushes palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-39 History Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-44
Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-76, 78,79,112 E Horizontal and Vertical Type . . . . . . . . . 83, 87
Effects tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68-79
C Elliptical Marquee tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 20 I
Changing Marquees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Exposure tools Intersect mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 65 (Dodge, Burn and Sponge) . . . . 68-69, 75-79
Characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Extrude and Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 K
Circular Marquee tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Eye Dropper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104-105 Kerning, Leading and Scale . . . . . . . . . . . 80, 85
Circular gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Clone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48, 49, 50, 112 F L
Cloning and Healing tools . . . . . . . . . . . 46-53 Fade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Lasso tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-15
Layer Blending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62, 64, 117 Polygonal Lasso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Type and text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Layer Folders (Layer Sets). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Type layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82-88, 119
Layer Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Q Type masks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Levels Adjustment layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Quick Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19 Type options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Lightness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Quick Mask mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65, 79 Type Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80-89
Linear Dodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Linear gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 R U
Luminosity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Rasterization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81, 83, 88 Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Rectangular Marquee tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Use All Layers in selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
M Rubber Stamp (Clone) tool . . . . . . . . . . . 48-50 Using the Brushes and Pencil tools . . . 32-45
Magic and Background Erasers . . . . . . . 66-67 Rulers, Guides and Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26, 107 Using the Cloning and Healing tools . 46-53
Magic Wand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-17, 56, 110
Magnetic Lasso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 S V
Marching ants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Sample mode in Cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Vector Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31, 95-97, 119
Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-20, 64-65, 98 Sample mode in Healing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Vector text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Measure tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49, 107 Saturate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 View Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Midtones mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-76, 78, 113 Scattering in Brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Modifying selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Scratch disk space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 W
Move tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27, 28-29 Selecting text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Wacom Intuos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Move, Align and Distribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Selection tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-21, 23 Warp Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87, 119
Selections for web pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
N Shadows mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76, 79
Navigating and Editing Images . . . . . . . 22-31 Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22, 37
Navigator panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Single Column/Row Marquee tool . . . . . . 12
Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57, 72 Slices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Strength slider. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70, 73, 74
O Styled Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Subtract mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
P T
Paint Bucket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56-57 Textures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Panning and Zooming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Tolerance setting for Eraser tools . . . . . 66-67
Paths, Vectors and Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90-99 Tolerance setting for Magic Wand . . . . . . . 16
Pattern mode in Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Tolerance setting for Paint Bucket . . . . 56-57
Pen tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90-93, 113-114 Transparency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Glossary
Finding the lingo a puzzle? Here’s your handy
guide to essential terms found in this Focus Guide
Alpha channel and artistic filters. You’ll find of the original image layer (the HTML file, plus separate image
Alpha channels are stored a complete list by clicking in background) in order to change files, for each slice. The web
alongside colour channels the Filter menu at the top of the appearance of the image. browser then reassembles the slices
within Photoshop files but do the Photoshop window. Layers do not directly affect the in their original position to give the
not affect the final image layers beneath them, in the appearance of a single image.
printout. Instead, they store Font same way as a blurry piece of
information that is helpful to A commonly used term used to glass placed over a photograph Thumbnail
you, such as saved Masks. describe the typeface you are does not actually affect the A small, ‘thumbnail-sized’
using. For instance, Times New photograph – in both cases, it is version of an image. You’ll find
Anti-aliasing Roman is a font where all the the appearance that is changed, them in folders of images and
Moving pixels around can cause letters look fairly formal. In leaving the original untouched. in Photoshop’s File Browser –
undesirable jagged edges to Arial, however, all the letters Because they’re smaller than a
appear, where edited pixels have are far simpler looking. Marquee full size image you can browse
not blended smoothly together. The flashing dotted outline that through them more quickly,
Anti- aliasing refers to the process GIF (or .gif) surrounds a selection. You’ll which makes finding the file
of smoothing out these jagged A type of image file format best also see it referred to in some you’re after far easier.
edges for a more natural look. suited for producing simple places as ‘marching ants’.
images for the web. Examples Pixel
Brush include logos, banners, buttons Navigator An abbreviation for ‘picture
Brushes enable you to paint on and anything made up of only a In Photoshop’s default screen element’, it is essentially a tiny
Photoshop images with colour, few flat colours. layout, the Navigator is dot of colour on screen. Most
other bits of images and pre- positioned in the top-right images are made of up millions
defined patterns. They mimic Greyscale corner and gives you access to of pixels, which combine to
real brushes in that you can An image is greyscale if it the whole image, even if you are make an image look seamless.
alter the size, hardness and contains no colour information. currently zoomed in to a Zoom in very close on an image,
texture in order to achieve the Almost all digital camera files, specific part. The red box within however, and you can clearly
effects you want. for instance, will be in colour. the Navigator image denotes the see these individual pixels.
But you can turn them into area that is currently on screen;
Colour channel black and white with many fine you can move around your PSD
There are three colour channels gradations of grey, from within image by clicking and dragging Photoshop’s own file format,
in all colour images: red, green Photoshop by turning them in to the red box around the which preserves things such as
and blue. Each one contains greyscale images. Navigator image. layers and channels. If you’re
information specific to that editing an image file, it’s
colour. Photoshop enables you Image size Resolution sensible to save it as a PSD, in
to alter each channel This refers to the physical size A measure of how many pixels order for the changes you have
independently, making it of an image. For instance, a make up an image. A resolution made to remain editable when
possible to reduce grainy blue photograph you are working on of 300dpi (dots per inch) is you next open it.
skies without affecting the rest may be 20x15cm. This matters recognised as the minimum
of an image, for example. most when you come if you’re intending to print Tool Options bar
to printing out the image. your images. When a tool is selected, the
Feathering corresponding Tool Options bar
Softening the edges of pixels in a JPG (or .jpeg) Selection automatically appears at the top
selection, so that they will blend A type of image file format that Any part of an image which you of the Photoshop window,
smoothly when moved elsewhere. gives a desirable combination of select with Photoshop’s tools, giving you access to various
Photoshop does this by only small file sizes and good quality shown by a marquee around it. options, including such things
partially selecting some of the pixels photo reproduction. It is You can then work on certain as Brush Sizes and Feathering.
around the edge of the selection. commonly used in digital parts of an image, or remove
cameras to store the images that then without affecting the rest.
Filter you take. The small files sizes
One of Photoshop’s preset tools also make it ideal for the web. Slices
that applies an effect to an These are special kinds of
image (or a selection within the Layer selections for web page design. An
image). Examples include Layers containing effects or bits image can be split into segments or
sharpening, blurring, creative of images can be stacked on top slices, and Photoshop creates an