Second Quarter - Photoshop Exercises

This quarter you are to complete 12 Photoshop Exercises - you can find these in the iLife05 folder in the Server under "Photoshop Exercises". The trick is not to just complete them, but to understand them - to remember how you created them. You may want to do more than one of each, and practice the different effects several times until you learn how to do them. The following exercise "The Leaf Brush Exercise" teaches you a few of the things you can do when using some of the special brushes and the Brushes Palette. The dynamic options in the Brushes Palette introduce variations of color, size, scattering, and other characteristics into the way a brush paints. When you choose Shape Dynamics, you can move the Size Jitter and Angle Jitter sliders to create brush marks of random sizes and angles. The Hue Jitter slider varies the color of the brush marks. You can use many different combinations. Follow the instructions carefully and GET CREATIVE!

In Photoshop we can use the Brushes in many ways. In this exercise you will learn a cool way of using the Leaf Brushes. You can even customize your own Brush – Leaf or Other Brush (by selecting a picture of your choice – ie. a leaf or flower > selecting it with the magnetic lasso tool > creating a layer of your selection > moving it to a white background > then going to Edit – Define Brush (and give your new brush a name and click OK).

You can use any of the Leaf Brushes already in your Photoshop Program.

1. Select a fall picture (a nice landscape or scene with a nice fall tree). Create a copy of the original and save it in your picture folder.

2. Select one of the Leaf Brushes on the toolbar. Select the Brush Tool > go to Brush on your toolbar.

3. Click the Brushes Tab next to the File Browser Tab (or go to Window on your Menu Bar > Brushes).

4. Select the following: Shape Dynamics, Scattering and Color Dynamics (these should be checked – checks on the little squares). When you want to have more control of where to place your leaves, deselect “Scattering”.

5. Right-hand click on the Color Dynamics Option and change the percentages as follows:
Foreground/Background Jitter – 50%
Control – Off
Hue-Jitter – 50%
Saturation Jitter – 50%
Brightness Jitter – 0%
Purity – 0%
(With these changes you can spread leaves of different colors and different sizes all over the picture you selected – to create a colorful and artistic work of art).

6. Use the brush on your pictures and see what happens. You can create different effects by pressing the mouse more on certain areas. The more you press the mouse the more leaves you will see. Add a few here and more there. Change the brush size several times.

7. Get creative!

IMovie Project "The Story of My Life"

You should be working on this iMovie Project. First creating a PowerPoint Presentation (as a "Storyboard") to organize your thoughts - following the Project Paper (Rubric). Then, creating your Movie Presentation using the iMovie Program. Some of your text and titles can be on a "black screen" and some directly on the pictures. You have to scan pictures of yourself from childhood to the present. Remember to convert these pictures to JPEG's. If you leave them as PSD (Photoshop) Files, they will look RED in iMovie.

You are to have AT LEAST 15 slides in your movie. I need you to use your "creativity" (YES you can be creative!) The titles should be timed properly. Remember: when you start selecting pictures from iPhoto (or other) in iMovie - check the time on your first clip right away - if it's too low or too high change it by going to "Show Photo Settings" while on "Media" - "Photos" and go to the Photo Settings Dialog Box if you need to change the time (the second, third and consecutive pictures will be imported with the time of the first one); also remember to reverse the Ken Burns Effect on "every-other-picture" to create a nicer looking presentation. When you enter "Transitions" make sure the speed is not too high - it should be around "3" (transitions will lower the time on your clips). You can add some visual effects too, if you wish.

You can spend some time creating a nice Photoshop document with pictures of your choice to use in your iMovie Presentation, using some of the techniques learned in class. You can check some of your Photoshop Exercises and create a nice piece of "digital art" work to use in you iMovie. You can also connect to the Server - go to iLife05 and select the "Photoshop Exercises" Folder and use some of those for your work. You should use your time wisely; we only have five days left to complete this project.

Help each other if you wish; but please work quietly an efficiently. Use your time wisely. For your grade I will consider your care in selection of pictures, the time you spent creating your iMovie, your creativity, use of transitions and special effects, your dedication and overall presentation. Thanks for your cooperation.

If you choose to create a QuickTime Movie of your PowerPoint Presentation to insert in your iMovie: it should have transtions, automatic timings and animation. You go to File - Save As - Select PowerPoint Movie (QuickTime Format) unmder "Format" - Save. Check the PowerPoint Movie to see if it works properly and if the timings are correct. If not, make the necessary changes and convert it again. You can drag the PowerPoint QuickTime Movie into your iMovie and place it where you wish.

Also remember that if you only want a copy of a particular slide of your PowerPoint, you can use the Command-Shift-No. 4 Keyboard Shortcut to copy your slide (the Mac Computer will create a picture of your slide on your desktop) and drag it into your iMovie. GET CREATIVE!

Music: You need to add music to your iMovie Presentation. Import music into iTunes and then select it from iMovie. You can just drag songs into the Audio Tracks and place them where you want them. You need to cut the song at the end of your movie if it's too long and minimize volume levels (Go to Edit > Split Video Clip at Playhead and delete unwanted section of song).

Photoshop: For the Second Quarter you are to complete 12 Photoshop Exercises. You can find some of these exercises (instructions) in the "Photoshop" Folder in iLife05.

The iMovie is due: November 20, 2007. You should convert it to a QuickTime Movie and put it in your folder under Digital Applications in the Server (for your Class). You should also burn a CD with your Movie. I will grade them during our Thanksgiving Vacation and will give you back the CD.