This project’s main goals are:

1. To create a Photoshop file
2. To learn some short-cuts
3. To learn how to paste and manipulate photographs in Photoshop using the Transfom tool
4. To learn how to use polygon, lasso and marquee tools

Assignment is graded on: Completion (5 pts)

• Find image in Google (make sure it is large) and Right-click and Copy
• Open up Photoshop
• Ctrl – N (New) or File > New to create a new document
• Press Ctrl – V (Paste) or Edit > Paste – to paste your saved image
• Use all of these tools (but one at time) to select an area on your image EXCEPT FOR SINGLE ROW AND SINGLE COLUMN
  
• After the area is selected change the appearance by going to Image > Adjustments > Invert or by playing around with any of the Filters
• Selecting multiple areas:
  • You can hold down the SHIFT key in order to select multiple areas
  • You can also use these in the upper tool bar to include or exclude areas
    • The first one only allows you to select one at a time
      
    • The second one allows you to select multiple areas or ADD (Shift)
    • The third one allows you to take away from your first selection SUBTRACT (Alt)
      
    • The last one is odd, it selects the INTERSECTION
• Try all the marquee tools and use the multiple selection areas.
• Play with Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast, Variations, Hue/Saturation, Desaturate and others
• When you are done Save as a JPG in your student folder
• Call it: InitialLastName-Selection.jpg
• Show Ms. Backus your final to get checked off and for 5pts
• After that make a new one! Play with selection tools or filters. Discover new things in the program and share it with your neighbors.

Pixel - A pixel is a single dot on a computer monitor.

DPI – Dots per inch (on monitors same as pixels per inch) refers mainly to printing dots on paper.

Resolution - The number of dots-per-inch(dpi) of an image. A higher dpi produces a clearer image. On-screen display is 72 dpi, while high end printers use a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Using our printers, 150 dpi is sufficient because they are OK printers and we would not notice a difference in higher resolution. Also, if we save 150 dpi it takes less memory up per inch. 

Pixelated – Describes an image in which individual pixels are apparent to the naked eye. Do not use small images and make them larger — they will pixelate and lose clarity. Start with large images and make smaller.

Raster Graphics – Raster images are made up entirely of pixels (or small squares). It’s not quite as easy to scale the images, and when you make the images larger the program will make its best guess on what colors should fill in the blanks.. Adobe Photoshop is probably the best example of an application for editing raster images. Raster-based images are best when working with continuous tone images, like photographs. No matter what type of application you initially created your image in, you can convert it to a raster format.

Vector Graphics – Vector images defined by curves and lines created by mathematical formulas, enabling you to scale the image larger or smaller without taking a hit on image quality. Adobe Illustrator enables you to create vector images. Vector-based images are best when working with small type and bold graphics no matter what size they’re scaled to they will be crisp.

(Website used for definitions of Raster/Vector)

Added Inspiration: http://www.tony-cragg.com/ (click on sculptures)

Assignment: To create a collage in a predetermined shape (mine is a star above – no squares or rectangles). Fill up the shape with images that represent you (likes, dislikes, your family, hobbies, interests, favorite movies). At minimum you should have 15 separate objects but you may represent the same thing with different objects. For instance, if you mostly went to the beach you can have multiple beach balls, sandcastles, buckets, flip flops etc.

Points 50:

• 15 objects minimum
• Objects fill space well to create shape from afar
• Objects backgrounds were taken away cleanly
• Objects represent you and things you like
• Used no backgrounds
• Challenged oneself/Creativity
• Fills space of paper well 8″ x 10″ with 150 pixels per inch

Before Starting: Check off your shape with Mrs. Dawson

Hints for starting: By now, student should know how to take away backgrounds from objects, and rotate them and make them smaller. However, as a hint on how to make the objects fill the space, find or draw the shape on the lowest layer. Hide or show layer to see your collage without/with shape.

BEFORE YOU TURN IN!

Adding Layer Style:

1. Double Click on one of your object layers
2. Play around with styles until you like the output
3. Copy layer style by Right Clicking on the name of the layer and selecting “Copy Layer Style”
4. Select all the layers by click on the top one and holding Shift and clicking on the last one (except for the background layers)
5. Right Click again by the layer names and select “Paste Layer Style”

Adding Color:

1. Using the Shapes tool draw a rectangle over the whole final product
2. Change the shape color using the Layers Window
3. Change the shape’s Blending Style in the Layers window until you like it.

TURNING IN:

1. Save the file as a Photoshop file: SDawson-collage.psd
2. Save As (Ctrl – Shift – S) a JPG: SDawson-collage.jpg
3. Drop the JPG version into the Collage folder on the S Drive (Graphic Design > Spring 2012 > Collage)

.GIF – (CompuServe Graphic Interchange Format) Work well for web because they are small-sized files. Can also be saved with transparent backgrounds which also work well for the web. Are not good for Photographs but great for low-color logos (Great for images of only a few colors max 256).

.JPG - (Joint Photographic Experts Group) These are compressed files with adjustable quality. Good for photographs on the web with many colors and if you want a file to take up less space. Every time you open and close this file it re-compresses so you lose quality each time. If you save a JPG try not to edit beyond that one save.

.TIFF – (Tagged Image File Format) These are very large sized files because there is no compression. Can also be saved to edit multiple layers too in Photoshop. Best for archiving original files or sending to high-end printers.

.PNG - (Portable Networks Graphic pronounced “ping”) Is a new great file type to save for web graphics, photos or logos. It can also have transparent backgrounds with more clarity than GIF files. However, not all browsers support .png files but the vast majority of new browsers do.

.BMP - (Windows Bitmap) Created for Microsoft and used in Microsoft Paint. Compresses files but does not lose quality. In general, this file is not preferred for saving in Photoshop (it is a bit dated).

There are numerous ways to save files in Photoshop. Many of these have to do with what works well for the web or printing. Here’s how we will save them in class:

Original File: Should always save your original file as a PSD Photoshop File because it keeps all your layers intact and does not “flatten” the image. However, if you do not own Photoshop at home you probably will not be able to open up this file.

Printing/Viewing at Home: If you are finished with a cool Photoshop File and want to be able to print it fast or view it at home save it as a JPG file but remember not to edit this file if you can because it will compress every time you open or close it.

Grayscale: Just like it sounds! In the color mode you can only use white, grays and blacks. If you want to add color you have to change to RGB or CMYK

RGB: Stands for Red Green Blue. Your computer monitor uses these light colors to display images on the screen. RGB is best suited for computer graphics and web graphics. But, we can print easily from this color mode on our computers – professional printing equipment typically requires CMYK.

CMYK: Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and K=Black. This mode is best for printing because each color is broken down into how much of each color you need to make a desired color in your graphic. CMYK can have downfalls on the internet and not show up correctly.

• Demo with Dawson: Apple, Apple 2, Medusa, Elephant
• Pick a background image from Google, it could be in outer space, underwater, in the forest, in Paris France anywhere! Just make sure the image is a large image.
• Once you have found your image and made it full-size in Google, Right-Click and Copy
• Open Photoshop
• Ctrl – N or File > New – to create a new file
• Do not specify a width/height/pixel per inch just hit OK (the image will be the perfect size for your image)
• Ctrl – V or Edit > Paste – to paste in your copied background image
• Find an image of person, animal, object that you wish to put in your image (it doesn’t need to make any sense! This image, however, needs to have a one-color background that doesn’t blend with the image itself.
• Good Example Images:
  
• Copy these images off the internet like the background
• Paste into Photoshop
• Take away the background before you start shrinking or moving the image.
• To take away the background, use the Magic Wand to select the background
• Increase the Tolerance to pick up a greater color range 32 is typically the normal number. If you make the number lower it will pick up less colors.
• Other ways of picking up more background:
  • Use SHIFT and click on the background or use the Add to Selection at the top of the toolbar
  • Use Select > Grow or  Select > Similiar
• Ways to select less background:
  • If for some reason you have select just a little too much background you can use the Subtract from Selection button on the top tool bar and the polygon tool to deselect a certain area.
• When you have the background selected press Backspace or Delete
• To get off of the selection tool use the rectangle marquee (looks like a dashed rectangle). And just touch the screen once.
• Use free-transform to make the person smaller. Remember to use the SHIFT key and pull ont the CORNERS only to make sure the image stays proportional.
• You can also use tools to make sure the image looks like it fits with the surroundings:
  • Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast
  • Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation
  • Image > Adjustments > Color Balance
  • Image > Adjustments > Variations
  • Image > Adjustments > Desaturate
• Continue this with at least 2 more objects (3 total)
• You can also duplicate layers! Go to Layers > Duplicate
• When you are done show Ms. Backus to get points checked off.
• Save in your folder as a PSD file: FirstInitialLastName-wacky.psd
• Continue adding to your scene, playing with filters or start something new entirely.

Quick Examples:

Objective:
- To learn about layer styles
- To use magnetic lasso or polygon to to select an area.

1. Find an image of a person or an animal that is mostly just the face. (large image and if there is less hair the better it looks too)
2. Paste into Photoshop and use the Crop tool to make sure the image is mostly of the face
3. Find an image with texture to overlay on the face (large image)
4. Paste the image with texture into Photoshop and make sure it covers the face well (Ctrl – T)
5. Duplicate both the textured layer and the face layer by going to Layer > Duplicate
   • Making a photo larger will make the image pixelated, but if you shrink the image it will stay high-quality.
6. Create a folder for the duplicates called “Originals” and hide it. These will be back-up images. Hide the folder.
7. Use the polygon tool or magnetic lasso to outline the face. Copy it. Paste it. Desaturate the skin layer.
8. Find what layer style looks best for the textured layer (I used overlay for the textured layer and made the desaturated layer at 50%)
9. Outline the eyes and teeth (if teeth are showing) using the polygon or magnetic lasso tool. Copy and paste to the top layers.
10. Use Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast and Image > Adjustments > Variations and Image Adjustments > Hue/Saturation to make the eyes, teeth and the face look good.
11. Save as texture-yourname.psd and texture-yourname.jpg

Grading:
- Inventive
- Has a good name for the company
- Uses negative space in an icon or within the company name
- Time use/Difficult

Brainstorming Worksheet – Google Doc

Our list of what makes a good logo:

•  Memorable
• Unique
• Interesting
• Simple
• To the point
• Low in colors
• Illustrates what the company does

Using Clipart Etc

Logos are very strict. You are creating an identity for a company. That means clipart, royalty-free images even if free are off limits – unless you change the image in a SIGNIFICANT way. So much so you cannot tell it came from the same source. You should create all the graphics you use.

Inspiration:
Negative Space Logos

Grading:

• Each illustration is worth 20pts (2 total)
• Does it illustrate the word well?
• Is the word readable?
• Is it unique and creative?
• Is it well executed and cleanly made?
• Did you challenge yourself?
• Is the image complete?
• Are all parts made by you? No images off the Internet
  You may outline images from the Internet however.
• I prefer only 1 color, but you can do up to 3.
• Each word is done in Illustrator or Photoshop (Illustrator preferred) in an 8.5 x11″ page.
  For Photoshop the resolution should be at least 300.

Pointers:

• Think elegant, simple. Look in the negative space. Try to actually Illustrate the meaning of each word.
• Try it on paper! You’d be surprised how many ideas you can come up with without using the computer.
• Play around. Not all your designs will work out – which is ok!
• Start with going through the fonts. Some may have interesting negative space. You can also illustrate words simply with some classic fonts like Times New Roman, Arial, or Helvetica.
• Try ALL CAPS, all lowercase, in Proper Case
• Think about things that are related to the word.
• Use Illustrator. You’ll love the outlines, eraser tool, and envelop distort.
• If you use Photoshop, you’ll want to utilize masking and probably rasterizing as well.
• Ask for help! If you know what you want to accomplish, but you don’t know how to do it, ask for pointers!

Here are some example images from the Internet (you may see where the images come from by clicking on them).

Brainstorming WKST