Adobe Photoshop

Course Code: AP01

A Two Day Course Outline
Previous users might be able to reduce the duration of the course

Day 1 - Introduction

Getting Started with Photoshop:
The Photoshop screen, The Toolbox, Photoshop Palettes, The Image Navigator, Zooming in and zooming out, Different screen views, Viewing image information, Terminology and Jargon.

Image Basics
Creating a New File, What you need to know about images, Image and device resolution, Image modes, File formats (EPS/TIFF/JPG/GIF) & File sizes, Moving an image, Comparing points in an image, Rulers and non-printing guides, Displaying the grid, Cropping an image, Changing an image's size and resolution, Changing the canvas size, Printing a file.

Opening and Saving Files
Opening a file, Placing an image within another file, Saving files as a different format, Saving images for the Web (JPEG/GIF), Setting save preferences.

Undoing Mistakes
Edit menu > Undo, File menu > Revert, The History palette & History brush, Saving an image snapshot.

Making Selections
Selecting a geometric shape, Selecting an irregular shape, Selecting an area of fixed size or shape, Selecting a single pixel row or column, Selecting an object magnetically, Creating a selection by painting, Selecting an area of the same colour, Selecting multiple areas of the same colour.

Working with Selections
Adding to and subtracting from a selection, Making a selection larger or smaller, Selecting a border area, Selecting the non-transparent areas of an image, Transforming a selection, Feathering a selection, Pasting into a selection, Removing fringes from a selection.

Colours
Changing the foreground and background colours, Choosing a colour from an image, Using the colours Palette, Previewing CMYK output on the screen, Replacing a colour.

Painting Images
Filling a selection with a colour, Choosing a brush, Changing the brush cursor/pointer shape, Painting soft edges, Painting hard edges, The line tool, Cloning areas of an image, Applying a gradient to an image, Creating a new gradient, Adding a stroke around a selection, Erasing part of an image, Changing paint tool settings.

Layers
Using the layers palette, Adding a layer, Copying a layer, Deleting a layer, Changing the layer order, Showing and hiding layers, Linking layers, Filling an entire layer.

Creating and Editing Type
Creating type, Editing type, Rendering type into pixels, Vertical type, Using type as a selection.

Day 2 - Further Skills

Editing Images
Moving an object a specified distance, Aligning objects with one another, Rotating an object, Skewing an object, Rotating an image, Applying perspective, Smudging an area, Blur and sharpen tools, Intensifying or toning down an image, Duplicating an image.

More Selection Techniques
Using the Channels palette, Saving a selection as a channel, Using the paths palette, Converting a selection to a path, Drawing a freehand path, Converting a path to a selection.

Adjusting Colours and Tones
Brightening or darkening an image, Adjusting an images overall tones, Equalizing bright and dark areas, Inverting an image, High contrast black and white, Desaturating an image, Increasing the colour saturation of an area, Changing a files colour mode, Adjusting an images colour balance, Changing an images hue and saturation, Changing individual colours, Adjusting an image using thumbnail previews.

Working with Layers
Creating an adjustment layer, Creating and editing a layer mask, Masking a layer with the content of another layer, Adding layer effects, Copying from more than one layer, Merging layers.

Patterns
Defining a pattern from a selection, Filling a selection with a pattern.

Filters
The Blur filters, Sharpen filters, Pixelate filters, Rendering filters, Special effect filters.

Using Actions
The actions palette, running an action, recording a new action, Batch processing images.

Practical Applications
Using keyboard shortcuts to increase productivity, Creating a flaming type effect, Lighting effects with channels, Creating images to use as Web page backgrounds, Transparent GIF images for the Web.

Pre-requisites

This course pre-supposes that delegates are already familiar with the Windows operating environment and general applications.