Week of November 29th - December 3rd

It's hard to believe that November is almost over and December is here! Time is definitely FLYING! Soon we'll be on our Christmas Vacation. My main goal this month of December is to improve our Photoshop Skills. You all did very well on your last Test (I'm proud of you!) - so this month we'll try to have fun with the Photoshop Program.

This week I will be out from Tuesday (11/30) -after 5th or 6th Period- through Friday (12/3). I had to accept an invitation to be a member of the Middle States Visitation Team to Nazareth Academy. It should be interesting! You will have a sub or several subs, so I need your cooperation. THANKS GIRLS!

To date you should have (or should still be working on) the following exercises (including Class Exercises):

1. Two Flower Exercises - where you created a layer of your flowers and desaturated your background. You also added a filter to your background. Please make sure you have these exercises in the Server, or create new ones. These are great to print for the Art Exhibit in May (May 4th). You may also want to practice adding frames and text into these images. Remember: you can create an extra layer to add your frame. Then you use the Rectangular Marquee Tool, feathering 0 px, and select the area where you want your frame, then go to Edit > Stroke > select color and width of choice. Then you can add "Blending Options" by double-clicking the layer with the frame. (If you have any questions please feel free to ask Mrs. Feld).
2. Check entry of November 4th. - Magical World Exercise (Exercise found in iLife06 > inside the PHOTOSHOP Folder for the Second Quarter). This is an important exercise because it teaches you to select an image from one picture to move it into another one. You repeat this process several times until you have at least six images on your desired Forest or "Magical" background. Please do not forget you can play with the colors of your backgrounds or images using the Hue/Saturation Window. You can also create copies of your layers to change them, adding filters, changing the color, etc.
3. Image on Flower or Other - this exercise teaches you to move one image into another using the Elliptical Marquee Tool. You don't necessarily have to use a flower. Make sure the feathering is on 2 or 4 px before using this tool, so that your edges look faded.
4. Feathered Vignette - I need you to learn this technique. Read the exercise instructions carefully. You also use the Elliptical Marquee Tool for this one and Exercise No. 5. You select an image with this tool making sure the feathering is 10 or more pixels (experiment several times to see what feathering you should use). Then you simply go to Select > Inverse and click the Delete/Backspace key. Make sure your background is white and crop the picture, so that your selected image is centered.
5. Old Photo Vignette - This exercise converts your image into an old looking photo using the Noise Filter and the Burn Tool.
6. Nine of Me - Exercise created in class. You created a document in Photoshop and divided it in nine sections using the "guides." You duplicated the layer with your image 8 more times to have a total of nine and then change the images using filters, except for the middle one. I must find this exercise in the server.
7. Zenith Design Logo - Exercise done in class. You learn to use the Gradient Tool. You may want to practice using this tool again. Select different options on the toolbar, change colors, add an image, add text, etc. If you create another exercise using this tool, make sure you add it in the Server for Extra Credit.
8. Leaf Brush - We learned to use the Leaf Brush and the Brushes Palette. Selecting different options. You may want to practice it again. Add the best work in the server - good enough for the art exhibit.
9. Feather or Custom Brush Exercise - I taught you how to create your own brush, selecting an image, adding it to a transparent background and going to Edit > Define Brush Preset. You created an exercise using your brush. I must find it in the server. You can practice doing this again! I want to find your best work in the Server!
10. Another Leaf Brush - In class I asked you to practice again creating your own brush by finding the picture of the leaf that I scanned at home. Since I had already created a layer of the red leaf, it was easy to make the Background layer invisible (by clicking the "eye") and then going to Edit > Define Brush Preset. You created your own Digital Art with your new brush. You may want to practice this again, creating another work of digital art.

So, by the end of this week you must have at least 10 Photoshop Exercises in the Server (all the above exercises add to 11 - including the two flower exercises). The students that already completed these ones can continue with the following:

11. Create a Collage - Topic of your Choice. To create a collage you use the technique used for the Magical World Exercise. You have several options: you can use the Rectangular or the Elliptical Marquee Tool (Feathering of your choice - anywhere from 0 - 15 px) and move your images into a plain background (color of your choice) or into another image, or use the Magnetic Lasso Tool. See the examples in the Server (inside the PHOTOSHOP Folder).
12. Poster - Decide which type of poster you'd like to create (a movie poster, an advertisement, an inspirational poster, etc.). Look at the samples in the Server or go to Google Images and check samples of Posters. Come up with your own ideas. Your poster can be 800 x 1000 pixels if desired - or a measurement of your choice (7.5 x 10 inches or so). As landscape or as portrait. I want to see text. Use some of the techniques learned in class.
13. Like Dali - follow the instructions in the Server. You will create a Dali Digital Work of Art using the Liquify Filter. Easy but fun!

Get creative! And please feel free to repeat some of the above exercises. If you want a better grade, replace some of the ones you already saved in the Server; but please let me know, since I already graded the ones there. Don't pay too much attention to the Exercise Numbers in the 2ndQExercises Folder in iLife06 (under PHOTOSHOP) - I didn't take in consideration the Class Exercises. As long as you complete the ones mentioned here, I'm happy!

CONTEST: The contest is still on. It can be a "Fall Picture" or a "Holiday Picture" (or preparing for the Holidays/Christmas or other) - check the blog entry of October 27. There's still time to take some good pictures, enhance them with Photoshop and print them for Mrs. Feld (if participating let me know). I will give you special photo paper. You must also download them in the Server. I will create a special folder called "CONTEST" inside the Digital Applications Folders in the Server (for all periods). Due Date: December 15, 2010.

Second Quarter - PHOTOSHOP!!!

You already created a few Photoshop Exercises (remember the picture of a flower? "Nine of Me" and the "Leaf Brush" exercise?) These exercises must be in the Server. The goal is to start getting you used to the Photoshop Toolbox and the different features the program offers to help you create great "digital art." Practice using different Filters (especially the "Artistic" Filters) and enhancing your pictures, going to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast or Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation (or just pressing the Command-U - Keyboard Shortcut). You can also "Desaturate" a picture - convert it into a Black & White picture by going to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (or pressing Command-Shift-U).

You should re-create what you did before to practice again what we did in class. First, select a picture of a flower - from the iLife06 folder or from the internet. It should be a picture with good resolution (so that when you make it bigger you don't see the pixels right away).

Using the "Magnetic Lasso Tool" select your flower. Practice selecting images with this tool until you become more proficient. It takes a little while to get used to it. If you make a mistake and want to go back, just press the Delete/Backspace key. Once your item (flower in this case) is selected - you should see the selection as intermittent little lines around your image - then create a layer of your flower. To create a layer you can press: Command-J. If you look at your layers palette, you see the layer of the flower, as a separate layer from the background.

Get used to duplicating layers, by dragging them into the “create a new layer” icon, next to the little trash can on your Layers Palette. (If you don’t see the Layers Palette > go to Window on the Menu Bar and select Layers).

Once you have the layer of the flower, you can desaturate just the background. Select the Background Layer (it should be highlighted - light blue) and press Command-Shift-U - this will turn your background Black & White. Afterwards, you may want to add a filter to your background: go to Filters > Artistic > Poster Edges or other.

If you want to change the colors of your flower, select the Flower Layer and press Command-U. The Hue/Saturation window will appear. Play with the sliders and see what happens. Change the color and appearance to your liking. You may also duplicate the flower, reduce its size with the Free Transform feature (Command-T) and move it to another area of your picture.

Save your work as a JPEG and put it in the Server in your Digital Applications Folder. Save it as “Flower Power.” You may also want to practice adding text, selecting the Type Tool (T) and adding a word or a quote. Pay attention to the toolbar on top, you may want to change the color or size of your font or the font itself. If you double-click the text layer (Layers Palette) you can go to the "Layer Style" window to change the Blending Options - click Drop Shadow and see what happens, click the words Drop Shadow and you can change the sliders in the Drop Shadow window - move the Distance, Spread and Size sliders and see what happens.

You should now have another folder in the server called “DA 2^nd Quarter.” You can place your Photoshop exercises there. Leave them as PSD files in your computer, in case we need to change things in the future, or add extra layers. The following exercises are found in iLife06 under PHOTOSHOP > in the 2ndQExercises Folder:

1. Exercises No. 1 - “Flower Power” (1 & 2) - Exercises where you selected a picture of a flower, selected the flower using the Magnetic Lasso Tool, created a layer of your flower, desaturated the background (converted it to black and white) and added an "artistic" filter (poster edges, plastic wrap or other). You had the option of enhancing the color of your layer using the Hue/Saturation window and changing the color, improving or lightening it. You were also able to duplicate your flower, shrink it and move it. Save as a JPEG and place in the Server in your DA 2^nd Quarter Folder in your Digital Applications Folder in the Server.

2. Exercise No. 2 – “Magical World Exercise,” which you can find in iLife06 in the PHOTOSHOP folder, under "2ndQExercises." You must select a "Magical" background from the Magical World folder in iLife06 or from the Internet - like a "Magical" forest or any other interesting background of your choice - and add at least 6 different images to it: fairies, mushrooms, flowers, gnomes, unicorns, Disney characters, butterflies, Humpty-Dumpty, or other. I recommend that you select these images using the Magnetic Lasso Tool with feathering of at least 1 px (under "Feather" on your Photoshop Toolbar you should enter 1 or 2 px before you select the image) - your images will look better this way. Read the instructions carefully and get creative! Once done, save your creation as a JPEG in the Server.

3. Exercise No. 3 - In this exercise you will practice how to add one image to another. I suggest that you select a flower and then add a face or other image to its center. Instead of using the Magnetic Lasso Tool, you are to use the Elliptical Marquee Tool. I also suggest that you change the feathering to 1 or 2 px before you do your selection. You can lower the opacity of your image by changing the percentage under “Opacity” in the Layers Palette or practice selecting the different options in the Layers Palette (small window or box right below the Layers tab).

4. Exercise No. 4 - This exercise is called the "Feathered Vignette." You will learn how to create this "cool" effect on your pictures, which is ideal for portraits. Practice this technique several times, until you understand it well and try to remember the different steps - I will ask you this in a future Quiz or Test. You will also use this technique in Exercise No. 5. You can also find this exercise in iLife06.

5. Exercise No. 5 - This exercise is called "Creating an Old Photo." Here you will learn to use the Noise Filter and the Burn Tool, besides working with Levels. You will also practice other techniques we already learned. Find it in the iLife06 folder, like the other exercises.

Now, you have plenty of Photoshop Exercises to complete. Remember: for the instructions, go to iLife06 under PHOTOSHOP in the 2ndQ Photoshop Exercises Folder. If at any time you want to check the Adobe Photoshop CS3 Revealed Textbook, please do so. I will place these books in the Mac Lab's Bookcase, where the iLife06 books are. Help each other, learn from one another, and complete as many exercises as possible. Thanks for your cooperation!

You should start becoming very familiar with the "Toolbox or Tools Palette." We already worked with the following tools: the Rectangular Marquee Tool (when you selected the pictures of yourself that you scanned), the Magnetic Lasso Tool (when you selected the flower in our first exercise to create a layer), the Move Tool (when we moved the flower to a different Photoshop Document) and a few others. Some of you have also used the Eyedropper Tool, the Brush Tool, the Crop Tool, the Paint Tool and the Eraser Tools. On Nov. 5th I'll teach you how to use the History Brush. Become familiar with these tools and practice using them in several exercises. Check the paper I gave you on the Adobe Photoshop Tools.

You should also review the Keyboard Shortcuts handout I gave you before. I need you to add another shortcut: Command-W (to Close).

I need you to learn how to use "layers" in Photoshop. You should read Lesson 5, page 1-24 of the Adobe Photoshop CS3 Revealed textbook. A layer is a section of an image that can be manipulated independently. Remember, we have used the Command-J shortcut to create layers. You can also go to Layer on the Menu Bar and select "Layer > New > Layer via Copy." When a layer is highlighted, you can duplicate that layer by going to Layer > Duplicate Layer... The Layers palette on the right side of your screen displays all the layers in an open file. You can use the Layers palette to create, copy, delete, display, hide, merge, lock, group or reposition layers.

Layers in Photoshop are like individual sheets of clear plastic that are in a stack. When you select a layer in the Layers Palette, that layer is "active." Only one layer can be active at a time. The name of the active layer appears in the title bar of the image window. Changes affect only the "active layer" even though you view the whole image in the image window. You may find it useful to hide layers while working in Photoshop. All you have to do is click on the "Visibility Icon" or eye on the left side of the layer.

The first textbook exercise you will complete for me is on page 1-39. You can find the file PS 1-3.psd in the Server in iLife06 under "DataFilesforStudentsPS." Skip the sections: "Use organizational and management features," and "Examine the Photoshop window." Just find the file and practice the instructions under "Use the Layers and History palettes." Also complete the section "View and print an image." Save this file as Zenith Design Logo as a JPEG in the Server in your Digital Applications Folder. You should have a folder called DA 2^nd Quarter under your name in the Server (DigitalApps).

The second Textbook exercise you'll be working on is on page 1-41. The PS 1-4.psd file is also in the "DataFileforStudentsPS" folder in iLife06. This exercise teaches you how to move layers. Save it as a JPEG in the Server as Cooking.