Using Adobe PhotoShop CS3

for Game Design Documentation

by Philippe Poulin

Using the Interface

This is my own setup but you can customize yours at will by using the Window Menu. Y ou can also use the F key to switch between various display modes if you think the interface is too tight or cluttered.
Menu Bar Tool-Specific Parameters Bar

Tool Bar Info Window Other Windows (Click to expand)

Current Foreground / Background colors (You draw with the foreground color if you use the brush for example)

History Window

Unused spaced when zoomed out Layer Window

Current Picture Canvas (You edit this)

Layers Window
Blending Mode of the current layer Edit locks on the current layer
Layer Visibility
(If there is no eye, the layer is hidden.)

Additional Layer Options Opacity of the current layer

(0% is completely transparent)

Current Layer

Layer Thumbnail
(Double-Click to edit Layer Effects)

(You work on this layer)

Layer Name
(Double-Click to edit name)

Drag layers up and down to change their display order or move them to groups Edit Layer Effects Select multiple Layers using SHIFT and click this to link layers together. Add a New Group Add a New Layer on top of the current one

Delete Current Layer

History Window

The History Window is most useful to keep track of the actions you performed. The actions are organized in the following order:
The bigger thumbnail at the very top is the original state of the document when you opened it or when you created it. (A) Oldest actions at the top. (B) Most recent actions at the bottom. (C)

A B

T o go back to a previous state of your picture, simply click on any past state. This will revert the picture to how it was when you performed that action. (D) Y ou will only be able to go back so far though, so be careful. Y ou can go back forward to states in the future by re-clicking on greyed out states. (C) Be careful! Y ou wont be able to restore states if you went back to an old state (D) and performed a new action at that point. Y ou can edit the maximum number of states in the History List in Edit Preference Performance History & Cache.

D
C

Info Window
This window is useful to keep track of data such as:
Color Data (A) Cursor Position (B) Width and Height of the current picture (C) Picture size (D) Other useful info about the current tool youre using. (E)

A B C

Essential Shortcuts
CTRL z Undo / redo last action only AL T CTRL z Undo multiple actions in succession Hold Spacebar + Left Click & Drag Move the camera around the canvas CTRL + Zooms the camera in CTRL - Zooms the camera out Hold CTRL & Left Click & Drag Move the content of a layer Hold CTRL & Left Click on Layer Thumbnail Make a selection out of what is in a layer CTRL d Deselect everything CTRL e Merge down current layer Hold AL T with any color-drawing tool & Left-Click Pick a color using the Eyedropper T ool xT oggle between the foreground and background colors v Move T ool b Brush T ool e Eraser T ool g Bucket T ool m Marquee Select T ool r Smudge T ool w Magic Wand T ool tT ext T ool BACKSPACE or DELETE Clears the content of a selection CTRL BACKSPACE Fills a selection with the Background Color (A layer must selected/active).

Drawing
In Photoshop, There is a variety of drawing tools you can use. Now, designers usually dont have a Wacom or Cintiq tablet so we cant draw elaborate pictures. Here I will explain how to draw simple shapes and icons using the available tools with a mouse.
Here are the essential tools to draw: Brush Eyedropper and Color Picker Eraser Bucket Clone Stamp Path (Pen) Smudge Text Shapes

Drawing Tool: Brush

Use this tool to draw using any brush shape with the Foreground Color.
Click on the icon and hold to switch between Brush Tool (Draws using an anti-alias smoother brush shape) Pencil Tool (Draws using a sharp pixel-precise brush shape) Simple Left-Click: Draw normally Simple Right-Click: Select a brush shape Hold Shift & Left-Click: Draws a straight line between the spot where you last drew and the current location of the brush cursor. Hold Alt & Left-Click : Use the Eyedropper T ool to select a color from anywhere in the picture and set it as the current Foreground Color Hold Ctrl & Left-Click : Move the content of the active selections or layer. Simple Left-Click: Draw Hold Shift: Forces a straight vertical or horizontal line.

Before clicking to draw,

Once you have left-clicked and you are holding the button,

Parameters:
Master Diameter: Increase or decrease the size of your brush shape. Hardness: Increase or decrease the smoothness of the edges of the brush. Opacity: Change the transparency of the brush. This is independent from the opacity of the layer.

Drawing T ool: Eyedropper & Color Picker

Use those tools to pick a color and set it as the Foreground Color
Eyedropper Tool (Select a color from any open picture visible on the screen within PhotoShop) Color Picker (Select a color from the entire palette) Simple Left-Click: Set the selected color as the Foreground Color Hold Alt & Left-Click : Set the selected color as the Background Color.

Before clicking with the Eyedropper T ool

A B

You can also use the Eyedropper by clicking on colors in any open picture while the Color Picker tool is open. You can also use the Eyedropper Tool by holding Alt and left-clicking while using the Brush tool or Bucket tool.

Color Picker (A & B)

Click on the forward square (A): Select a color for the Foreground Color. Click on the back square (B): Select a color for the Background Color.

Drawing Tool: Eraser (E)

Use this tool to erase any color you drew

The eraser will instead draw the Background Color if there is only 1 layer and no transparency. Simple Left-Click: Draw normally Simple Right-Click: Select a brush shape Hold Shift & Left-Click: Draws a straight line between the spot where you last drew and the current location of the eraser cursor. Hold Ctrl & Left-Click : Move the content of the active selections or layer. Simple Left-Click: Erase Hold Shift: Forces a straight vertical or horizontal line.

Before clicking to draw,

Once you have left-clicked and you are holding the button,

Parameters:
Master Diameter: Increase or decrease the size of your brush shape. Hardness: Increase or decrease the smoothness of the edges of the brush. Mode: Switch between a smooth brush (Brush) and a sharp pixel precise brush (Pencil). Opacity: Change the transparency of the eraser. This is independent from the opacity of the layer and cumulative as you erase the same spot over and over again with a low opacity eraser.

Drawing T ool: Bucket & Gradient (G)

Use this tool to fill an area or selection with a color

Bucket Tool (Fill an area or selection with 1 color) Gradient Tool (Fill an area or selection with a gradient) Simple Left-Click: Fill the desired area with color. (Click multiple times to keep spreading more color) Hold Alt & Left-Click : Use the Eyedropper T ool to select a color from anywhere in the picture and set it as the current Foreground Color Drag: Draw a line along which the gradient will follow. Release to apply the gradient. Hold Shift: Constrains the direction of the gradient to 45 degrees increments.

Before clicking to f ill,

Once you have left-clicked and you are holding the button with the Gradient T ool,

Bucket Parameters:
Opacity: Change the transparency of the fill. This is independent from the opacity of the layer. Tolerance: The lower the number, the more picky the Bucket will be about the colors replaced when filling an area. Anti-Alias: Enables or disable Anti-Alias (If enabled, color fills will be smoother without rough edges) Change gradient color presets (A) (You can customize your own gradient here) Change gradient type (B) Opacity (C) : Change the transparency of the gradient. This is independent from the opacity of the layer.

Gradient Parameters:

B C A

Drawing Tool: Clone Stamp (S)

Use this tool to clone and draw with other parts of the picture Before clicking to draw,
Right-Click: Choose a brush shape. Hold Alt & Left-Click : Select an area to sample and clone. Simple Left-Click: Draw using the sampled area as paint. Hold Shift: Forces a straight vertical or horizontal line.

Once you have held Alt and left-clicked to select the area to clone,

Parameters:
Master Diameter: Increase or decrease the size of your brush shape. Hardness: Increase or decrease the smoothness of the edges of the brush. Opacity: Change the transparency of the brush. This is independent from the opacity of the layer. Sample: Switch between different sample settings.
Current Layer The tool will clone only the content of the current layer when holding Alt & left-clicking to sample. Current & Below The tool will clone the content of the current layer as well as layers below it when holding Alt & leftclicking to sample. All Layers The tool will clone the content of all visible layers when holding Alt & left-clicking to sample.

Drawing Tool: Path (Pen) (P)

A
Control Point Anchor Point

Use this tool to draw curves using anchor points and control points (A) To draw a Path,
Simple Left-Click: Add an anchor point to draw a curve Simple Right-Click: Select additional options (See below) Left-Click & Drag: Drag and thus stretch control points around an anchor point (Changes the curve) Hold SHIFT while dragging a control point: Contrain control point movement to 45 degrees increments. Hold ALT while dragging a control point: Allows you to break the control point from its straight line. Place cursor over first anchor point in path & Left-Click: Close the path in a loop Place cursor over any other point in path & Left-Click: Delete an anchor point ENTER while drawing a path: Confirms and closes the current path.

Once you have a path drawn you can edit it with the Direct Selection Tool (Hold CTRL)
Hold CTRL while using Path Tool: Activates Direct Selection T ool When using the Direct Selection Tool, your cursor becomes a white arrow. (B) The Direct Selection T ool allows you to select a path, multiple paths or even multiple anchor points and move them around.

Additional Options
Stroke Path: Draws a line along the selected path using the current brush and Foreground Color. Fill Path: Fills the selected path with the Foreground Color. Make Selection: T urns the selected path into a selection.

Parameters

C D E F G

Automatically f ill the path with the Foreground Color. (C) Create a simple path without f illing it automatically. (D) Normal Pen (E): Draw curves using anchor points. Free Form Pen (F): Draw by dragging the cursor. Auto-Draw Shape Paths (G): Draw automatically-generated shapes.

Drawing Tool: Smudge (R)

Use this tool to smudge a picture, as if you were spreading the color by swiping your f inger on the drawing surface.
Click on the icon and hold to switch between Smudge Tool (Smudges the color using a brush shape) Blur Tool (Blurs in the areas where you draw using a brush shape) Sharpen Tool (Opposite of Blur - Sharpens the area where you draw using a brush shape) Simple Left-Click: Draw normally Simple Right-Click: Select a brush shape Hold Shift & Left-Click: Draws a straight line between the spot where you last drew and the current location of the brush cursor. Hold Alt & Left-Click : Use the Eyedropper T ool to select a color from anywhere in the picture and set it as the current Foreground Color Hold Ctrl & Left-Click : Move the content of the active selections or layer. Simple Left-Click: Draw Hold Shift: Forces a straight vertical or horizontal line.

Works like the brush and eraser tools, before clicking to draw,

Once you have left-clicked and you are holding the button,

Parameters:
Master Diameter: Increase or decrease the size of your brush shape. Hardness: Increase or decrease the smoothness of the edges of the brush. Strenght: Increase or decrease the strength of the smudge/blur/sharpness effect.

Drawing Tool: T ext (T)

Use this tool to write text anywhere in the picture. Click where desired to add text using the Foreground Color
Simple Left-Click: Set a location to start writing text at. Left-Click & Drag: Set a text box within which you can type.

Parameters:
Text orientation: T oggles the orientation of the text between vertical and horizontal. (A) Font & Font Style: Change the font. (B) Font Size: Increase or decrease the size of the text. (C) Anti-Alias Method: Switch between different anti-alias settings (Smoother or sharper edges). (D) Text Alignment: Choose between left, right or center alignment. (E) Text Color: Change the color of the selected text without changing the Foreground Color. (F)

Note: When you install a new font, you will have to restart PhotoShop after installing the new font.

Drawing Tool: Shapes (U)

Use this tool to draw lines, arrows and other shapes using the Foreground Color. Select a shape
From the available shapes in the parameters at the top. By holding the button when selecting the tool icon. Line Tool: Hold Shift: Constrains the line drawing to 45 degrees increments Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse and Polygon Tools: Hold Shift: Forces a perfect symmetrical shape instead of an irregular shape. Hold Alt: Forces a concentric shape drawing instead of drawing from the corner of the shape.

Once you have left-clicked and you are holding the button,

Note: Once you have drawn a shape, it actually creates a path and a new layer associated to it.
If you want to modify the shape you have to use the Path and Direct Selection T ools. T o edit pixels further or merge the layer down, you must rasterize the shape layer (T urn it into pixels only and not a path). (T o rasterize, right-click the Layer name and select Rasterize Layer)

Parameters:

Automatically f ill the shape with the ForegroundColor. (A) Create a simple shape path without f illing it automatically. (B) The parameters of the shape tools depend on the shape chosen. (C) The Line options allows you to draw various types of arrows. The Rounded Re.ctangle options allw you to adjust the roundness of the corners The Polygon options allow you to determine how many edges the polygon has.

Making Selections
In Photoshop, you will use selections constantly to achieve your goals. With selections, you mark a specific area of the picture in order to edit only that part of the image.
Selections appear as an animated dotted line in PhotoShop. (A) When you have a selection active, you cant edit the image outside of that selection Although it is not apparent, selections do take transparency into account so keep that in mind.

Here are the essential ways to make & edit selections: Using Basic T ools
Marquee Lasso Magic Wand etc CTRL & Left-Click on a layer thumbnail to make a selection out of it Select All - Select entire canvas (CTRL-A) Select Deselect - Removes all selections (CTRL-D) Select Inverse- Selects unselected areas and unselects selected areas. (SHIFT-CTRL-I) Select Color Range - Allows you to select specific colors Select Modify - Allows you to tweak a selection (Expanding or contracting it) Select T ransform Selection - T ranform a selection without affecting its content Select Load/Save Selection - Load or Save selections

Using Keyboard shortcuts

Using Menu Commands (Select menu (B))

Selection Tool: Marquee (M)

Allows you to make a selection in a specific shape.
Click on the icon and hold to switch between Rectangular marquee (Makes a rectangular selection.) Elliptical marquee (Makes an elliptical selection. Simple Left-Click outside of an existing selection: Deselects everything and make a selection from scratch Hold Shift & Left-Click: Adds your selection to an already existing selection. Hold Alt & Left-Click : Substracts your selection from an already existing selection. Hold Ctrl & Left-Click : Move the content of the active selections. Rectangular Marquee: Hold Shift: Forces a perfect square instead of a rectangle. Hold Alt: Forces a concentric selection instead of selecting from the corner of the shape. Elliptical Marquee: Hold Shift: Forces a perfect circle instead of an ellipse. Hold Alt : Forces a concentric selection instead of selecting from the corner of the shape. Left-Click inside an existing selection & Drag: Moves all active selections WITHOUT moving their content.

Before clicking to make your selection,

Once you have left-clicked and you are holding the button,

Once you have a selection made,

Parameters:
Feather: Increase this number to make the edges of selections smoother. (in Pixels) Style: Normal: Basic Marquee Fixed Ratio: Always create selections of the same ratio. Fixed Size: Always create selections of the same shape.

Selection Tool: Lasso (L)

Allows you to draw and make a complex selection yourself
Click on the icon and hold to switch between Regular Lasso (Simple drawing mechanic) Polygonal Lasso (Draw a polygon) Simple Left-Click outside of an existing selection: Deselects everything and make a selection from scratch Hold Shift + Left-Click: Adds your selection to an already existing selection. Hold Alt + Left-Click : Substracts your selection from an already existing selection. Hold Ctrl + Left-Click : Move the content of the active selections. Polygonal Lasso: Hold Shift: Constrains selection segments to 45 degrees increments. Hold Alt: Forces the regular lasso to draw normally (Regular Lasso) Release to return to Polygonal Mode) Double Left-Click (This will close the selection no matter the distance between the last point and the first) Move the cursor to the first point until the cursor shows a circle icon and left-click.

Before clicking to make your selection,

Once you have left-clicked and you are holding the button,

T o close your selection you have 2 possible options,

Once you have a selection made,

Left-Click inside an existing selection + Drag: Moves all active selections WITHOUT moving their content.

Parameters:
Feather: Increase this number to make the edges of selections smoother. (in Pixels)

Selection Tool: Magic Wand (W)

Allows you to select an area of an image Before clicking to make your selection,
Simple Left-Click outside of an existing selection: Deselects everything and make a selection from scratch Hold Shift + Left-Click: Adds your selection to an already existing selection. Hold Alt + Left-Click : Substracts your selection from an already existing selection. Hold Ctrl + Left-Click : Move the content of the active selections. Tolerance: The lower the number, the more picky the Magic Wand will be about the colors it selects.
1 means the wand will only select the color you clicked and never allow more subtle variations of that color. The higher you set the Tolerance, the more lenient the Magic Wand is when selecting colors

Y ou can adjust the sensitivity of the Magic Wand

Once you have a selection made,

Left-Click inside an existing selection + Drag: Moves all active selections WITHOUT moving their content.

Parameters:
Tolerance: The lower the number, the more picky the Magic Wand will be about the colors it selects. Anti-Alias: Enables or disable Anti-Alias (If enabled, selections will be smoother without rough edges) Sample All Layers: T urn this on to make selections as if all visible layers were merged together.

Other Ways to Select

Using Keyboard shortcuts

CTRL & Left-Click on a layer to make a selection out of it Select All - Select entire canvas (CTRL-A) Select Deselect - Removes all selections (CTRL-D) Select Inverse- Selects unselected areas and unselects selected areas. (SHIFT-CTRL-I) Select Color Range - Allows you to select specific colors (See next) Select Modify - Allows you to tweak a selection (See next) Select T ransform Selection - T ranform a selection without affecting its content Select Load/Save Selection - Load or Save selections

Using Menu Commands (Select menu (A))

Color Range

The Select Color Range menu allows you to make a selection out of specific colors in the picture. With the Color Range window open, use the Eyedropper cursor to select a color from the picture.
Hold SHIFT or click on to add more colors to your selection. Hold AL T or click on to substract colors from your selection. Use the Fuzziness slider to increase or decrease how picky the color is selected. Check the Invert box to invert the selection.

Modify Selection
Original Selection
The Modify option in the Select menu is not available if you have no selection active.

Border
This turns the edges of the current selection into a border. Change the number to determine the width of the border in pixels.

Smooth
This smoothens the shape of the selection Adjust the smoothness of the selection by changing the value.

Expand
This expands the selection Change the number to determine the size of the expansion in pixels.

Contract
This contracts the selection Change the number to increase or decrease the contraction in pixels.

Feather
This smoothens the edges of the selection. Change the number to adjust the amount of feather in pixels.

Move Tool (V)

Allows you to move the content of a layer or selection Left-Click + Drag to move something
If nothing is selected, it will move the entire content of the active layer. (A) If something is selected, it will cut and move the content of the selection. (A) (Be careful, as this doesnt create a new layer with the cut content) Hold Alt: Drag and duplicate the content. Hold Shift: Constrains movement of content to 45 degrees increments. (B)

Cropping

Cropping takes the active selection and crops the picture to create a smaller picture around this selection. The result is always a square or rectangular picture though. T o crop you can either use the Crop T ool (C) and draw around the area of the picture you want to keep or make a selection in any way you want and use the Image Crop command. Image Crop

T ransform

Scale Basic scaling of the selection Rotate Basic rotations Skew Allows you to drag the handles of the transformation rectangle along their axes Distort Allows you to drag the corners of the transformation rectangle freely. Perpective Forces you to move the handles to create perspective effects. Warp T urns the selection into a 3 x 3 grid of which you can drag the lines as curves.

With a selection active, you can apply a transformation to its content. In Edit Free transform (CTRL-T), you can perform basic scaling and rotations. In Edit T ransform, you have a variety of possible transformations you can apply to the content of a selection. Y ou can use the SHIFT and AL T keys to experiment with those transformations. When you are done with your transformation, press ENTER to apply it.

Rotate 180 Does a perfect 180 rotation with the content of the selection. Rotate 90 CW Does a perfect 90 clockwise rotation with the content of the selection. Rotate 90 CCW Does a perfect 90 counter clockwise rotation with the content of the selection. Flip Horizontal Flips the content of the selection horizontally Flip Vertical Flips the content of the selection vertically.

Image Size

Image Image Size (AL T + CTRL + i) allows you to change the size and resolution of the entire picture. It doesnt crop the canvas. This is mostly used to increase or decrease the size and/or resolution of the entire picture to save more eff icient f iles or make various adjustments Edit the numbers in Pixel Dimensions to change the size of the picture. Edit the resolution under Document Size. Constrain Proportions automatically adjusts the size to keep the proportions intact. Resample Image has 2 useful options:
Bicubic (best for smooth gradients) - Resizes the picture and smoothens it out. Nearest Neighbor (preserve hard edges) - Resizes the picture and keeps pixels and hard edges intact without smoothing. (Useful to scale up pixelated images to keep them pixelated)

Canvas Size
Image Canvas Size (AL T + CTRL + c) allows you to increase the size of the picture by adding empty areas around the main picture. Y ou can also decrease the size of the canvas but the picture will be automatically cropped. Changing the Canvas size doesnt change the content of the picture, only the size of the Canvas (or workspace). If you decrease the size of the canvas, the picture will be clipped. (A) The current size of the picture (B) The new size of the picture. Y ou can change the unit used. (Pixels, Centimeters, etc.) (C) Y ou can change in which direction the change will be applied. (See below) (D) Y ou can change what is applied to the new area. (Background Color, Transparent areas, etc.)

A B C

Stroke Selection
Edit Stroke allows you to stroke a line along the edges of a selection. (A) The width of the line that is going to follow the selections edges. (B) The color of the line. (C) Determines if the line is going to be completely inside the selection, along the middle of its edge or completely on the outside of it. (D) Allows you to change the blending mode and transparency of the line.

A B C D

Rotate Canvas
Use Image Rotate Canvas to apply a variety of changes to the entire picture. Rotation (180, 90 Clockwise and 90 Counter Clockwise) Arbitrary Allows you to determine the exact angle of rotation. Flip Canvas Horizontal Flips the entire picture horizontally. Flip Canvas Vertical Flips the entire picture vertically.

Grid
Use View Show Grid to display the grid. Use View Snap T o Grid to make the tool cursors snap to the grid. Use View Snap to quickly turn the Snapping on and off. Y ou can edit the grid settings in Edit Preference Guides, Grid & Slices (see below)
You can change the color and the dimensions of the grid under the Grid menu. (A)

Custom Brush Shapes

1. Y ou can create your own brush shapes in Photoshop and it can be a very useful feature. (A) First draw your new shape over a transparent background and make a selection around it. If you draw with different tranparencies, the new brush also takes those into account. (B) Go to Edit Def ine Brush Preset (C) Name your new brush shape and press OK. (D) Right click on the canvas with the brush tool to select a brush shape. Scroll down the list to select your new brush C shape Draw using your new brush shape!

2. 3. 4.

5.

Brush Dynamics
Use Brush Dynamics in the Brushes window (F5) to draw in a variety of ways and get various effects when drawing with the brush or eraser. Check the different effects to apply all the ones you want at the same time. Shape Dynamics

Scattering
Scattering allows you to stamp brush strokes all around the cursor instead of drawing exactly where you put the cursor. You can play with the distance and with the count.

Other Dynamics
A useful feature in Other Dynamics is the ability to play with the Opacity Jitter, which applies a random opacity to your brush strokes.

Spacing
In Brush Tip Shape, a useful feature is that you can increase the Spacing between brushes strokes to draw a dotted line.

In Shape Dynamics you can play around with the Size Jittter, Minimum Diameter and Angle Jitter to make the brush strokes vary in size and angle and create nice particle effects. Use this in conjunction with Spacing & Scattering for more variety.

Adjustments
The two Adjustments tools I use the most are Image Adjustments Hue/Saturation

Change the hue and saturation of a picture or the content of a selection.

Change the levels of Shadows, Mid-T ones and Highlights of a picture or the content of a selection.

Image Adjustments Levels

Play with the sliders to change the hue of the picture or hyper- saturate or desaturate the colors.

Play with the sliders to increase or decrease the levels of the Shadows, Mid-Tones or Highlights.

Original

Hue

Saturation

Original

Greater Highlights

Automated Actions
If you have a repetitive task you have to perform multiple times on multiple files for example, you can create a custom command (Action) that will perform those tasks instanttaneously with a simple keyboard shortcut. An example of such a command could be to desaturate the colors in 30 pictures and then save and close them. Display the Actions Window by going to Window Actions or pressing AL T + F9. In the Actions window, click the Create New Action icon. ( ) In the New Action dialog window (On the right): Name your new action Assign a keyboard shortcut to it (Here is it Shift + F12) Click Record

The Actions Window

You can then see at the bottom of the Actions Window that the Record Button turns red: ( ) Now, carefully perform all the actions you want Photoshop to perform whenever you press the specified keyboard shortcut. In this example, you would perform:
Image Adjustments Hue/Saturation Completely desaturate the picture, Confirm File Save File Close.

Once you are done, click the Stop button: ( ) Now, everytime you use the keyboard shortcut, it will perform those actions. You can see your newly recorded action in the Actions Window list. You can even see all the commands Photoshop will perform when you use that action.

Tips & T ricks

If you draw but no color is applied, make sure that you are on the correct layer or check that your are not drawing outside of an active selection. Save your pictures in PNG format with transparency so that when you paste them into your documents you will see the background of the document through the transparent parts of your pictures. When you create a new picture, you can set the background to transparent instead of White or Background Color. (A) If you have loaded an existing picture but it has no transparent background, duplicate the Background Layer and hide the original Background Layer Name your layers by double clicking on their names to organize your work. Y ou can also organize your layer in folders. Always keep a PSD file of your work in case you have to edit it.

A checkered background means it is transparent.

If you think a JPG is too big (in terms of data), you can reduce its compression rate when you save it. Y ou can minimize windows within PhotoShop. If you Undo the first action performed after switching active layer, Photoshop switches back to the previous active layer so watch out for that. The Gaussian Blur filter is most useful to add polish to otherwise pixelated or low-resolution scaled-up pictures. To draw color over a black & white sketch, put the sketch on a layer and set the layer to the Multiply blending Mode, then draw the color on a layer under it.

Have fun!