South Panola School District



Graphic Design ApplicationsPhotoshop Lesson 4: Layering and FlatteningIn this lesson, you will continue learning about the importance of layers in Photoshop. However, once a project is complete, it is important to understand the importance of flattening an image to reduce file size. As you continue to explore this program on your own, you will find many more tools and techniques that can help you in enhancing your photos. You will use the following new tools in this lesson:Move Tool – This tool moves all items or selected items in a layer. Zoom Tool – This tool allows you to zoom in and out on the photo. (Hint: You can also use the Ctrl and + keys to zoom in and the Ctrl and – keys to zoom out!)Placing Part of a Photograph into Another Photograph:1. In PhotoShop, open the cherry blossom.jpg and CSNT.jpg images from the Templates drive in \PhotoShop Lessons\Lesson 4. (Tip: When you are in the Open dialog box, hold your Ctrl key on your keyboard and select both files to open at once.)If you can’t see both images, click the Restore button on the document title bar and then move the two image windows side by side on your screen.You need to look at the image size for both documents. The cherry blossom document is very small. You need to change the Document Size to as close to 8"(Width) X 10" (Height) as you can get. The CSNT image size is perfect as it is. 2. Click on the cherry blossom window and then click the Image menu and select Image Size…92392595250000104775010382250011239501038225004343400885825Adjust the Document Image Size00Adjust the Document Image Size581025142875003. The newly sized document seems large. You will need to select the zoom tool from the tool palette. You will also need to select the minus zoom from the Options bar. Click on the tool as needed to view the entire image.4. Make sure the cherry blossom document is selected and is the background layer in the Layers palette. 5. Select the Move tool and click and drag the CSNT image onto your background. Once you click and drag the image onto the background you will notice the move tool looks like it is carrying a dotted rectangle and a plus sign. Drop the CSNT image into the Cherry Blossom background.Move toolMove tool6. Select the Eraser tool and decide which size works best for the area around the couple that you need to erase. I placed my couple beside the tree. You will be switching between the zoom tool, the eraser tool and eraser sizes, and the move tool.Eraser You can click the eye in front of the Background layer if you want to check your erasing progress.Eraser You can click the eye in front of the Background layer if you want to check your erasing progress.7. Zoom in on the couple so you can be sure to erase closely. Save this PhotoShop file as Combined_Image_XX (where XX is your initials) in the Graphic Design folder on your H drive.Keep this file open.Flattening An Image:One of the great things about Photoshop is that you can use layers (just as you have in this lesson) to do many creative things with photographs and other images. However… this causes the files that you create in Photoshop to be pretty large. In order to make the file sizes smaller, you should flatten the image that is created in the file by saving the file as an image file instead of as a Photoshop (.PSD) file. Some examples of image file formats include:JPEG (.jpg) – This file format is used for photographs and highly detailed images. It is a universal format that any machine can open and red. JPEGs have small file sizes making them ideal for use on web pages.GIF (.gif) – This file format is used for simple line drawings. It is a universal format that any machine can open and read. GIFs have small file sizes making them ideal for use on web pages.TIFF (.tif) – This file format is used for high quality, full color print. TIFFs are good for good print quality and should be used if you plan to send an image file to a printer. Since they have larger file sizes, they are not good for use on web pages.Unlike image files, a Photoshop file retains the layers that have been added during the creative process..PSD (PhotoShop) – This file format is used to retain layers and history. This type of file can only be read using an Adobe Create Suite program. This type of file should be used for saving master files in case something needs to be changed.You will flatten the image that you just worked with so that you can understand the benefits of this process.The Combined_Image.psd file that you have been working with should have two (2) layers – the background layer with the image of the cherry tree and the image of the couple that you have partially erased. Click the File menu and select Save As… The Save As dialog box will appear.Change the Format of the file from Photoshop (*.PSD, *.PDD) to JPEG. Save the file as Combined_Image_XX.jpg. The JPEG image that was created has a MUCH smaller file size than the PSD file. 333375057277000While you are working on a project, you should save the project as a .PSD file so that you can continue to work with the layers. When a project is complete, it is best to save the file as an image file (such as a JPEG) since the file size is much smaller.Submit your completed photo to Canvas.Downloading Photos from the Internet:While we are working in Photoshop, you will probably want to download photos that you find online – maybe a picture of a favorite celebrity or a place that you would like to visit. When looking for a photograph online, you should try to find a high resolution image. Even though a high resolution image is a larger file than a lower resolution one, you can always reduce the file size later. You can go from high resolution to low resolution but you can’t go from low to high. When searching for photos using an image search engine (like Google Images), enter the text high resolution with the keyword for the photo. When the image search results appear, the sizes of the image files will be listed under the results.In the image search results shown above, the first image of the Eiffel Tower is the highest resolution. The image is 2678 pixels by 4955 pixels resulting in a 5699 KB (kilobytes) or 5.7 MB (megabytes) image. The other images are far smaller files.Click on the one that you like. Click the link.How much resolution you need for a project depends on what you plan to do with the photo and how large your final project will be. For a smaller image, you can choose a lower resolution. For very large images (like on posters) you need to choose very high resolution photographs. Otherwise, your image will become pixilated. For example, the small picture of Sponge Bob looks fine but, when you zoom in, the image quickly becomes pixilated.When the highest resolution image available is on your computer screen, right click on the image and select Save Picture...The Save Picture dialog box will appear.Save the picture in the Graphic Design folder in your H drive.Downloading Photos from a Digital Camera:At some point during the study of Photoshop, you will probably want to work with photographs that you take yourself. You can use the following instructions to download the photos to your computer.4342765227330Connect the camera with a USB cord and then plug the other end into one of the USB ports on the front of the computer. Turn on the camera and make sure that it is set to Play mode. Wait a little while and the AutoPlay window will open. Click the option.Double click on the icons and folders until you see your photos.Right click the photo that you want to save on your computer and select Copy. (If you want to save more than one photo, you can hold the Ctrl key on the keyboard and select each file to copy them all at once.)Click the Windows Start button and select Computer. Navigate to the Graphic Design folder in your H drive. Right click somewhere in the window and select Paste. The files will copy into your folder.To make it easier to find you files, you may want to right click each photo file in your folder and rename the files something other than the default filename given by the camera.On Your Own:Find a photograph or photographs that you would like to use with one of the same Photoshop methods that you have learned in this lesson. You can use an image that is included in the Sample Photos on your computer or the Templates drive. You could also download a file from the Internet (such as a photo of a celebrity or of a famous place). You can use the digital camera to take a picture of yourself or a friend and use the instructions to download the photo to your computer. For example, you could create a photo of you with a celebrity or in a place you have never visited. As you are working on this activity, save your file as OnYourOwnL2_XX.PSD (a Photoshop file) in the Graphic Design folder in your H drive. When you are completely finished, save the file as OnYourOwnL2_XX.JPG (a JPEG file). Submit the JPEG file in Blackboard. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download