Chapter 6

Getting Started in Photoshop

 Photoshop provides an extensive
collection of tools; however, most
designers rely on a subset of these
tools for the bulk of their projects.

Photoshop To open Photoshop online use the link:

https://www.photopea.com/
Overview
For tutorials use the link:
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/tutorials.html

Notice: the interface may vary little for whether the

version is online (since it keeps on updating), or is
another stand-alone version, but still the same concept
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Dr. Yusra Al-Najjar

Creating an Image File

New Document dialog box,
File menu > New….
Preset Details (descriptions drawn from Photoshop Online Help)
• Name: Set the name for this new document
• Size: Select the size (i.e., Width, Height) and the unit of measure for the new
document.
• Resolution: Set the resolution for the new document.
• Background Contents: Set the initial background contents for the new document.
Click the Create button and the resulting image file appears in the workspace.
In the New Document dialog box, Photoshop provides a series of preset values
based on the project type and expected output (Figure); these sets include Photo,
Print, Art & Illustration, Web, Mobile, and Film & Video, … etc.
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Creating an Image File (Continued)

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Saving an Image File

Save As dialog box,
File menu > Save As….
Before saving the file:
- know where the image file will be saved. When in doubt, select the computer’s desktop for easy file retrieval.
- Select an appropriate location,
- click the Save button.
Note: If the computer is connected to the internet, options may be available to save an image file on a cloud drive
File Naming:
When naming files,
- avoid using special characters (e.g., @, #, $, %, *).
- do not use spaces
- If you need a space, consider using a hyphen (-) or an underscore (_).
- Or, try using Camel Caps, a technique in which the first letter of each word in a file name is capitalized, such as
UsingCamelCaps.psd.
- Finally, try not to make file names too long
Photoshop Workspace Introduction

Photoshop workspace:
----------------------------
(A) Photoshop/application
menu bar,
(B) Options bar,
(C) Tools panel,
(D) Document window,
(E) Status bar and
(F) Panels.

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Photoshop Workspace Introduction (Continued)
A. The Photoshop menu bar, also referred to as the menu bar, provides
access to the application’s menus and menu commands.
B. The Options bar displays options for the currently selected tool.
C. The Tools panel contains tools for creating and editing images.
D.The document window displays the image file.
• The working area is referred to as the canvas; this is where the image
will be created.
• If more than one file is open at a time, document windows can be
tabbed and, in certain cases, grouped and docked.
E. The status bar is part of the document window; information about the
image file is displayed here, including the image’s current zoom level or
magnification.
F. Panels help you monitor and modify your work.
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Tools and Subset of Tools
Selection Tools Measuring Tools
• The Move Tool (V) moves • The Eyedropper Tool (I) samples colors
selections, layers and guides. in an image.
• The Marquee Tools (M) make Retouching Tools
rectangular, elliptical, single- • The Eraser Tools (E) erase pixels and
row and single-column areas of an image to a previously saved
selections. state or to transparency.
• The Lasso Tools (L) make Painting Tools
freehand, polygonal (straight- • The Brush Tool (B) paints brush strokes.
edged) and magnetic (snap-to) • The Paint Bucket Tool (G) fills similarly
selections. colored areas with the foreground
• The Quick Selection Tool (W) color.
lets you quickly “paint” a Drawing & Type Tools
selection using an adjustable • The Type Tools (T) create type in an
round brush tip. image.
• The Magic Wand Tool (W) Navigation Tools
selects similarly colored areas. • The Hand Tool (H) moves an image
within its window.
• The Zoom Tool (Z) magnifies and
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reduces the view of an image.
Tools and Subset of Tools

Tools panel, Colors, Quick Mask,

and Screen Modes:
A: Default Foreground and
Background Colors (D) ,
B: Foreground Color,
C: Switch Foreground and
Background Colors (X),
D: Background Color,
E: Edit in Quick Mask Mode (Q),
and
F: Change Screen Mode (F).

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 Exercise 6.1: Create,
Save and Add Content
to an Image File

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Need to Know Fundamentals
Undoing Your Work:
Edit menu > Undo (Ctrl Z)
Using the History Panel:
Window menu > History
Selection Options:
Select menu > Deselect

Image Size, Color Mode and Canvas Size:

Window menu > Properties
- Image Size: Image menu > Image Size…
- Color Mode: Image menu > Mode
- Canvas Size: Image menu > Canvas Size…
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 In recent years, the term photoshop has been
used as a verb to describe altering the contents
of a photo, image edits that may or may not be
performed in Adobe Photoshop CC, for example,
in the following statements:
Discussion • It’s okay, I will just photoshop their head
from another photo in which their eyes are
6.1: open.
Photoshop • Yes, I can photoshop the power line out of
the photo to remove the distracting line.
the Verb ➢ What verb is photoshop replacing in these
statements?
➢ Are you familiar with, or have you used this
terminology yourself?
➢ How does use of this term enter our lexicon?
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Understanding Layers in Photoshop
The Layers Panel
Window menu > Layers

The Layers panel can be used to

- show and hide layers (a.k.a. turning
the visibility of layers on and off),
- lock layers,
- create new layers,
- delete layers and
- work with groups of layers

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The Layers Panel
Window menu > Layers
Window menu > Layers panel.
View 1: Layer group expanded,
(A) Visibility toggle (eye icon);
(B) Hidden layer (no eye icon);
(C) Layers panel menu;
(D) Layer group;
(E) Layer with layer style
applied; and
(F) Locked layer.

View 2: Layer group collapsed,

(G) Create a new group;
(H) Create a new layer; and
(I) Delete layer.
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Renaming, Managing, Deleting and Grouping Layers

• Renaming: To change a layer name, double-click on the current name in the Layers panel
and when the layer name is highlighted, enter a new name.
• Managing: The order of layers can also be adjusted via the Layer menu using the Arrange
menu command (i.e., Bring to Front ⇧⌘] | Bring Forward ⌘] | Send Backward ⌘[ |
Send to Back ⇧⌘[) [Layer menu > Arrange]
• Deleting a layer will delete any content that the layer contains from the image. This
action is as straightforward as selecting the layer to be deleted in the Layers panel, then
clicking on the Delete layer icon (trashcan icon) located along the bottom edge of the
panel.
• A layer group serves to organize layers in the Layers panel. There are multiple ways to
create and utilize a layer group; here are two options.
• Option 1: Create the layer group first, and then move the layers into the layer group.
• Option 2: Select the layers to be grouped, and then create the layer group
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 Layer-Friendly File Types

• Only certain file types support layers, meaning these file types
preserve layer information and make the layers available across
work sessions. The Photoshop Document (PSD) is one such file type;
a PSD does not flatten an image file’s layers, discarding layer
information when saving the file.
• Another file type that supports layers is the Tagged-Image File
Format (TIFF; TIF). Photoshop can save layers in a TIFF file; however,
if the TIFF file is opened in another application, such as Preview, only
a flattened image (without layers) is opened.
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 Layer-Friendly File Types
Window menu > Layers panel.
View 1:
• (A) Link layers;
• (B) Add a layer style;
• (C) Add a layer mask;
• (D) Create new fill or
adjustment layer;
• (E) Create a new group;
• (F) Create a new layer; and
• (G) Delete layer.

View 2: Group layer visibility.

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Exercise 7.1: Working with Layers
Exercise brief: Using a provided image
file, a photograph taken at the annual
Albuquerque International Balloon
Fiesta,
- add additional hot air balloons to the
image.
- Content will be selected and then
duplicated using the Copy and Paste
menu commands
- a process that will produce a new
layer each time it is used.
- Use the Move Tool (V) to reposition
and resize the new hot air balloons.

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Type Tool
Using the Type Tool

Options bar, Type Tool options:

(A) Toggle text orientation;
(B) Search for and select fonts;
(C) Set the font style;
(D) Set the font size;
(E) Set the antialiasing method;
(F) Align text;
(G) Select the text color;
(H) Create warped text; and
(I) Toggle the Character and Paragraph panels

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Using the Type Tool (Continued)
• Point type is a horizontal or
vertical line of text that begins
where the cursor is clicked in
the image.
• Paragraph type uses
boundaries to control the flow
of characters, either
horizontally or vertically
• Type on a path flows along the
edge of an open or a closed Examples of the three methods used for creating type in
path. A path consists of one or Photoshop:
(A) point type,
more straight or curved (B) paragraph type, and
segments. (C) type on a path. Typeface: Myriad Pro.
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Using the Type Tool (Editing Character, Paragraph)

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Using the Type Tool (Shaping Text)
In order to shape the text:
- Select the layer for the text
- Select the text
- Press the Wrap button on
top
- From the open window
select the style

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Exercise 7.2: Working with Type
Exercise brief:
- Add type to an image
- Apply a layer style to the
type.
Use any image file created (or
use a provided image file) for
this exercise.

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Summary
This Photoshop Overview
chapter Creating an Image file
Saving an Image file
covered
Photoshop Workspace
the
Tools of Photoshop
followings: Some Fundamentals
Layered Panel
Layered Friendly File Types
Type Tool
Shaping Text
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