Photoshop Basics

Getting into Photoshop

 Run your mouse into the Dock in the bottom of your screen and click on the
Photoshop icon that looks like this…….

Choosing an image from the internet

 Go into Google Images.
 Click Show Options….
 Click on >Large
 Select images that are bigger than 200k
 The larger the images the better for quality in Photoshop

Saving from the internet

You can also save images directly from a web-site through your web browser.

In Firefox
• Position the mouse pointer over the image you want to save.
• Right-click with the mouse (Mac users click and hold over the image and click the ctrl key).
• Choose “Save Image As…” from the popup menu.

Resizing an Image
• From the menu bar go to Image Size. A dialogue box will appear.
• From the dialogue box choose the size you would like your image to be. You can specify the size in either
Pixels or Inches. You only need to change one dimension. Photoshop will automatically keep the image in
proportion.
• Click “OK” after changing image size to see your results.

Note: You can always make an image smaller without losing any image quality. Trying to make an image larger
than its original size can result in a blotchy mess.

Creating a New Document

 Go to File > New...

 Name: Choose a name for your document
 Preset / US Paper
 Image Size: Choose the size of your document
 The pixel (a word invented from "picture element") is
the basic unit of color on a computer display or in a
 computer image. Set a Width and a Height for your image.

 Resolution: Set the resolution to "300" and select "pixels/inch" from the drop-down menu.

 "Resolution is the number of pixels (individual points of color) contained on a display monitor, expressed in terms of
the number of pixels on the horizontal axis and the number on the vertical axis. The sharpness of the image on a
display depends on the resolution and the size of the monitor. The same pixel resolution will be sharper on a
smaller monitor and gradually lose sharpness on larger monitors because the same number of pixels are being
spread out over a larger number of inches."

 For Mode select RGB Color

 The Contents selector allows you to select from a White, Color, and a Transparent background for your document.

Palettes
Palette groups can be moved around in the workspace by clicking on the title bar and dragging. Each palette group has a
collapse and a close button in the title bar area. Try the collapse button for each of the palette groups now. You'll notice
the button works as a toggle, clicking the button a second time after the palette is collapsed will expand the palette again.
You may also notice that some palettes do not completely collapse. Try collapsing the color palettes and you'll see that the
color ramp is still visible.
The 2 most important Palettes in Photoshop are LAYERS and HISTORY

Layers Palette
Photoshop lets you organize artwork on separate transparent layers. Think of layers as a stack of acetate
sheets one on top of the other. Where there is no image on the sheet, you can see thru the sheets laying below,
and behind all the layers is the background.

If the Layers palette is not visible: Go to Window > Show Layers

* F7 = Show/Hide Layers Palette

* Tab = Show/Hide Toolbar and all Palettes
* Shift-Tab = Show/Hide all Palettes

NOTE: Images with no background, as well as

images with layers can ONLY be saved in the
Photoshop Format

The layers palette lists all the layers in an image,

starting with the topmost layer.

Legend:
A- Show/Hide
B & G- Paintbrush icon and highlighted layer:
indicates the layer is active
C- Link/unlink
D- Add a New layer
E- Delete layer
F- Layer Content Thumbnail
H- Palette Options

To change the order of layers:

1. In the Layers palette, select the layer you want to move
2. Drag the layer up or down to the desired position within the palette.

Linking Layers
By linking two or more layers you can be able to move their contents together as well as perform certain tasks
like scaling and aligning.
To link the layers:
1. Select the layer
2. Click in the column immediately to the left of any layers you want to link to the selected layer.

To change the name of a layer:

1. Click on the palette properties arrow (Letter "H" on graphic)
2. Select Layer properties

Correcting Mistakes using the History Palette

As most of other editing software, Photoshop also uses the
command CTRL Z to undo the last operation done.
However you only have ONE time undo, using CRTL Z. The
good news in Photoshop to help you correct mistakes is the
History palette.

The History palette lets you jump to any recent state of the
image created during the current working session. Each time
you apply a change to an image, the new state of that image
is added to the palette.

To revert to a previous state of the image click the name of

the state on the History palette

Here are some guidelines to help you use the History palette:

1. Changes done to Photoshop's display interface, like preferences and palette settings are not recorded in the
History palette. Only changes applied to your document will be collected in the palette.

2. By default the History palette records the previous 20 states, older states are automatically deleted in order to
free memory for photoshop.
3. Once you close and re-open a document, all states and snapshots of the last session are cleared from the
session

4. States are added from the top down.

5. Each state is listed with the name of the tool or command used to edit the image.

To reverse all changes made to the image since it was last saved:
Choose File > Revert, and click Revert.

General Navigation
 To Zoom In press Command +
 To Zoom Out press Command –
 Ctrl 0 fits image into the window
 Holding the space bar while using any tool will give you a grabber hand
 Navigator palette can be used to move around the image

The Toolbox
You select a variety of tools from the Toolbox by clicking on the icons. Within each type of tool you can select
"hidden" tools by dragging the tool to the side or by pressing on the icon until the hidden options drop to the
side. See examples below.

To view the Toolbox Go to Window > Show Tools..

The Pencil and Brush tools:

Click on the tools that have

a small arrow on their lower-right side to display the hidden
tools.

Selecting Tools:
These tools allow you to select areas in various different ways. Drawing
tools and commands only work in selected areas. If no area is selected,
tools and commands will work anywhere on the document.
 Rectangular Marquee
Click once on the Rectangular Marquee tool to choose it. The icon will turn white and the cursor will turn into a
cross hair when you move it onto the document.
Select an area: Drag out a rectangular marquee of any size anywhere on the document. Release the mouse and
you should have a rectangular area selected. You can tell it is selected because it has the line of ‘marching ants’
moving around it.

Magic Wand Tool

This tool allows you to select areas of images based on color similarities without having to trace
its outline. Choose the Magic Wand tool. Click the magic Wand on the white area or the colored
area of your image. You will notice how it will only select the white areas. You can specify the
tolerance (color range) that you need.

Selecting Tips
 Deselect – Ctrl D
 Press Shift to add to a selection and Alt to subtract
 Menu Bar / Select / Inverse to make it the opposite selection
 Hold down the Shift key to get a perfect circle or square
 Copy / Cut / Paste work just like they do in Word- Each time you Paste you get another layer
 Crop Tool: After you select the area that you want to crop hit Enter Key

The Photoshop work area includes the menu bar at the top of your screen, the image window containing an
image, and a variety of tools and palettes for editing and adding effects to your document.

Using the Tool Options Bar

Most tools have options that are displayed in the tool options bar. This bar is located right underneath the menu
line. The options bar is context sensitive, it changes as different tools are selected.

You can move the options bar from its default location to anywhere in the work area.
To display the tool options bar do one of the following: Choose Window > Show Options.

Brush Tool bar

This bar example shows that the Brush tools has been selected, it shows a thumbnail of the thickness of the
brush. Next to this is a small arrow indicating that a pop-up window is available with more options (pop-up
windows explained later in this page). There is also several painting modes from where to choose from, opacity
and a checkbox for a Wet Edges style.
Working with Palettes
Photoshop interface allows you to access tool properties both
from the Tool options bar and from individual windows or
Palettes. Palettes help you monitor and modify images as well
as text.

You can display them as you work. To show and hide a palette:
Choose the appropriate Window > Show or Window > Hide
command.
Character palette

Brush
pop-up palette
Pop-up palettes provide easy access to libraries of brushes,
swatches, gradients, styles, patterns, contours, and shapes.
You can also change the display of a pop-up palette to view
items by their names, as thumbnail icons, or with both
names and icons.

To select an item in a pop-up palette:

1. Click the triangle next to the thumbnail image of the
current item. See Brush Tool bar example above.

Using rulers, guides, and the grid

Rulers, guides, and the grid help you position images or

elements precisely across the width or length of an image.

Rulers
When visible, rulers appear along the top and left side of the
active window. Markers in the ruler display the pointer's position
when you move it. Changing the ruler origin (the (0, 0) mark on
the top and left rulers) lets you measure from a specific point on
the image.

To display or hide rulers:

Choose View > Show Rulers or View > Hide Rulers.

Guides and the Grid

Guides appear as lines that float over the entire image and do
not print. You can move, remove, or lock a guide to avoid
accidentally moving it.

A Grid appears by default as non printing lines but can also be displayed as dots.
The grid is useful for laying out elements symmetrically.

To show or hide a grid or guides:

Choose View > Show > Grid.
Choose View > Show > Guides.

A- Ruler
B- Horizontal and Vertical guides
C- Dark gray line shows the Grid
D- Check board pattern indicating transparency
Transparency

By default the transparent areas of a document appear as a check board pattern.

You can start a new transparent document by checking the transparent option within the New Document
window.