photoshop handbook

ADOBEPHOTOSHOP

THE HANDBOOK

ADOBEPHOTOSHOP

THE HANDBOOK

ADOBEPHOTOSHOP

THE HANDBOOK

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CONTENTSPage No.

Introduction 3Concept of Layers 4Shortcuts 6The Tools 7Managing Layers 9Merging Layers 11Resizing Images 12Correcting Images 15Removing Watermarks 17

Prepared byNiraj Agarwal

[email protected]

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INTRODUCTIONPhotoshop (Ps) is a product by Adobe and it is an amazing software engineering marvel.It began as a Image Editing software and later improved to include in Web Designing,Animation and many more. As of now, Adobe Photoshop comes under the CreativeCloud(CC) umbrella of Adobe along with a variety of other products. Photoshop isactually a paid software and not open source. An open source alternative for Photoshopis GIMP, which uses the same basic concepts of Photoshop. So once you get a goodunderstanding of Photoshop you can try a hand at GIMP too.

Currently the version of the product in use and the one we are showing you is AdobePhotoshop CC 2015. Adobe has completed 25 years of Photoshop in the year 2015 andthey released the CC version pertaining to it.

The interface of Photoshop looks like this.

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CONCEPT OF LAYERSIn Photoshop every element on the page is a layer. Imagine the page to be a drawingsheet. Then every text, image, line or shape that you place on it is a layer. Going in termsof programming, for OOPs we have everything in form of an object, similarly, hereeverything is in form of layers. Working in layers is easy than working on the entirecontent at once. Imagine there are 4 images and all are joined together. If we areworking on one image, there are chances that other will be affected. So its better tokeep them seperated while working. Layers are placed one on top of the other, thisorder can be changed in the Layers Palette.

The Layer Palette

Layer Filter: This enables you to hide layers based on different things. Makes it easier tofind the layers that you want to work with.

Opacity: 0= transparent 100 = fully opaque. press number keys on keyboard to instantlyset to multiples of 10, or adjust the slider for an exact amount of transparency on eachlayer.

Blend Modes: Change these to change the way that the selected layer blends with thelayers underneath it. Great for compositing and special effects. (With the move toolselected, press Shift+ or Shift- to cycle through blending modes.

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The Layer Palette




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The Layer Palette




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Fill opacity: Adjusts the amount of opacity of the pixels only, but any layer styles areunaffected and remain 100% opaque.

Visibility: If the eye is showing that layer is visible. Click on the eye and the layer will stillbe there but invisible until you click on the eye again.

Locked: The padlock means that something is locked in the layer. (Also click in the 4icons in the “lock” next to fill opacity to make certain things editable of locked). Hereare the different things that can be locked/unlocked.

Lock all: If the box is checked the layer is totally protected from any editing.Lock Position: You can make any changes except for moving the image.Lock Image pixels: You cannot draw on this layer if checked.Lock transparent: You can paint on this layer but not where it is transparent.

Useful tools at the bottom of the panel

Link: Enabled you to link layers. These will all move together unless unlinked.

Layer Effects (Styles): Special effects applied to your image layer. Noted by the little f.Each effect will be listed. multiple effects may be used at once.

Add Layer Mask: This is the button to press to add a layer mask to the currentlyselected layer. Allows you to paint away parts of your layer without damaging youroriginal image.

Add Adjustment Layer: The best way to apply image adjustments. There can changethe color or tone of an image. All layers are affected underneath an adjustment layer(Unless clipped). This is a good option to using Image>Adjustments because adjustmentlayers are non-destructive and re editable.

Layer Groups: A good organizational tool. This puts layers into a folder. You can choosemultiple layers and press Cmd/Ctrl+G to put them in a group, or create a group byclicking this icon. Layers can be dragged in or out of groups in the Layers panel.

Create New Layer: Press this icon to create a new layer. Drag an existing layer into thisicon to create a duplicate of that layer,

Delete Layer: Drag a layer into this icon to remove it. Or select the layer and then pressthis icon to get the same result.

Panel Options: This will open a drop down menu that provides a number of options,many that aren’t listed anywhere else.

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SOME USEFUL SHORTCUTS

Ctrl & + : Zoom in Ctrl & - : Zoom out Ctrl + Alt + Z : Undo (Up to 50 changes) Ctrl + Shift + Z : Undo (Up to 50 changes) If you want to move a layer without selecting the move

tool, press Ctrl and drag the layer around When a layer is selected press the keyboard shortcuts of the

toolbar to work with the tools. Example, when a layer isselected, press 'V' on the keyboard to make the layermovable.(Move tool is selected).

Ctrl + J : Duplicates the selected layer Ctrl + D : To unselect a selection For free transform of images, while resizing the image

press Ctrl, the resizing arrow will turn into a block arrow forfree transform

While resizing, pressing the Shift key gives you uniformsizing.

Ctrl + Tab : To move between multiple tabs F : Makes the canvas full screen

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The ToolsMOVE TOOL (V)

The move tool simply lets you moveobjects in a given layer around thePhotoshop canvas. To use it, clickanywhere on the canvas and drag. Asyou drag, the Photoshop layer willmove with your mouse.

MARQUEE TOOL (M)The marquee lets you select part of thecanvas in a specific shape. By defaultyou get a rectangular (or perfectsquare if you hold down shift whileselecting), but you can also select inthe shape of an ellipse (or a perfectcircle if you hold down shift whileselecting).

CROP TOOL (C)The crop tool is used to (surprise!)crop your pictures. You can specify theexact size and constrain the croptool to those proportions, or you canjust crop to any size you please.

PAINTBRUSH TOOL (B)The paintbrush is a tool that emulatesa paintbrush and the pencil is a toolthat emulates a pencil. Thepaintbrush, however, can be set tomany different kinds of brushes. Youcan paint with standard paintbrushand airbrush styles, or even paint withleaves and other shapes as well

EYEDROPPER TOOL (I)The eyedropper tool lets you click onany part of the canvas and sample thecolor at that exact point. Theeyedropper will change yourforeground color to whatever color itsampled from the canvas.

MAGIC WAND (W)Clicking an area with the magic wandwill tell Photoshop to select the spotyou clicked on and anything around itthat's similar. This tool can be used asa crude way to remove backgroundsfrom photos.

LASSO TOOL (L)The lasso is a free-form selection toolthat lets you drag around the canvasand select anything the lasso'd areacovers. Within this tool you also haveaccess to the polygonal lasso, whichlets ou create a selection by clickingaround on the canvas and creatingpoints, and the magnetic lasso, whichworks the same as theregular lasso but attempts to detectedges for you and automatically snapto them.

CLONE STAMP (S)Like the healing brush, the clonestamp lets you sample part of thephotograph and use it to paint overanother part. With the clone stamp,however, that's it. Photoshop doesn'tdo anything beyond painting one areaover a new area.

ERASER TOOL (E)The erase tool is almost identical tothe paintbrush, except it erases insteadof paints.

PAINT CAN & GRADIENT TOOLS (G)The paint can tool lets you fill in aspecific area with the currentforeground color. The gradient toolwill, by default, create a gradient thatblends the foreground and backgroundtool (though you can load and createpreset gradients as well, some of whichuse than two colors).

TYPE TOOL (T)The type tool lets you typehorizontally. Tools hidden beneath thehorizontal type tool will let you typevertically and also create horizontaland vertical text masks.

SHAPE TOOL (U)The shape tool lets you create vectorrectangles, rounded rectangles, circles,polygons, lines, and custom shapes.These tools are very useful whendesigning or when creating shapemasks for photos.

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PalettesPalettes are the things that you see sitting over on the right side of your screen. Theymake it easy for you to navigate through your document, add adjustments, switchmodes, and other things.

LayersThe layers palette lets you see all the layers in your document. As you start getting toknow Photoshop, you'll find yourself in this palette more than any other. It'll let youorganize and arrange your layers, set blending modes, set visibility and opacity of layers,group and merge layers, and a bunch of other neat things we'll learn about in futurelessons.

AdjustmentsYour adjustments panel is where you can easily create and edit adjustment layers.Adjustment layers are non-destructive image alterations that affect all the layers belowthem and can easily be turned on and off. Their most common use is for colorcorrection (namely the Levels and Curves adjustments, but there are many differentkinds of adjustments you can perform that can dramatically alter the look of yourimage.

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Color ChannelsThe color channels palette will let you look at the specific colors that make up yourpicture. If you're in RGB mode you'll get red, green, and blue. These color channels willdiffer if you're in a different color space (such as CMYK or LAB). When you choose aspecific color, you'll notice you'll be shown your image in different versions of black andwhite. This is because each color channel is simply a monochromatic imagesrepresenting the light in each channel (e.g. the red channel is just a look at the red lightin your photo). Switching between these different channels is useful for making colorchannel-specific touch ups, overall contrast enhancements, and also for converting yourphoto to black and white in a compelling way. This will be discussed in greater detail in alater lesson about color correction and photo enhancements.

TextThe text palette, and the paragraph palette below it, let you make all sorts ofadjustments to any text you create with the type tool. These options are very similar towhat you'll find in a word processing, but you can also specify things like characterwidth and spacing which are more useful in design.

MANAGING LAYERSRename a layer or groupAs you add layers to an image, it’s helpful to give them names that reflect theircontent. Descriptive names make layers easy to identify in the panel.Do one of the following:

Double-click the layer name or group name in the Layers panel, and enter a newname.

Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS), and double-click the layer (not itsname or thumbnail) in the Layers panel. Enter a new name in the Name textbox, and click OK.

Select a layer or group, and choose Layer Properties or Group Properties fromthe Layers menu or the Layers panel menu. Enter a new name in the Name textbox, and click OK.

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Rasterize layersYou cannot use the painting tools or filters on layers that contain vector data (such astype layers, shape layers, vector masks, or Smart Objects) and generated data (such asfill layers). However, you can rasterize these layers to convert their contents into aflat, raster image.

Select the layers you want to rasterize, choose Layer > Rasterize, and thenchoose an option from the submenu: Rasterizes the type on a type layer. It does not rasterize any other vector

data on the layer. Rasterizes a shape layer. Rasterizes the fill of a shape layer, leaving the vector mask. Rasterizes the vector mask on a layer, turning it into a layer mask. Converts a Smart Object into a raster layer. Rasterizes the current video frame to an image layer. Rasterizes the current view of 3D data into a flat raster layer. Rasterizes all vector data on the selected layers. Rasterizes all layers that contain vector and generated data.

To rasterize linked layers, select a linked layer, choose Layer > Select Linked Layers, andthen rasterize the selected layers.

Delete a layer or groupDeleting layers you no longer need reduces the size of your image file.

To quickly delete empty layers, choose File > Scripts > Delete All Empty Layers. Select one or more layers or groups from the Layers panel. Do one of the following: To delete with a confirmation message, click the Delete icon . Alternatively,

choose Layers > Delete > Layer or Delete Layer or Delete Group from theLayers panel menu.

To delete the layer or group without confirmation, drag it to the Delete icon ,Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac OS) the Delete icon, or press theDelete key.

To delete hidden layers, choose Layers > Delete > Hidden Layers.

To delete linked layers, select a linked layer, choose Layer > Select Linked Layers, andthen delete the layers.

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MERGING LAYERSWhen you have finalized the content of layers, you can merge them to reduce the sizeof your image files. When you merge layers, the data on the top layers replaces anydata it overlaps on the lower layers. The intersection of all transparent areas in themerged layers remains transparent.You cannot use an adjustment or fill layer as the target layer for a merge.In addition to merging layers, you can stamp them. Stamping allows you to merge thecontents of more than one layer into a target layer whileleaving the other layers intact.

When you save a merged document, you cannot revert back to the unmerged state; thelayers are permanently merged.

Merge two layers or groups Make sure that the layers and groups you want to merge are visible. Select the layers and groups you want to merge. Choose Layer > Merge Layers.You can merge two adjacent layers or groups by selecting the top item and then choosingLayer > Merge Layers.You can merge linked layers by choosing Layer > Select Linked Layers, and then mergingthe selected layers.

Merge layers in a clipping mask1. Hide any layers that you do not want to merge.2. Select the base layer in the clipping mask. The base layer must be a rasterlayer.3. Choose Merge Clipping Mask from the Layers menu or the Layers panelmenu.

Flatten all layersFlattening reduces file size by merging all visible layers into the background anddiscarding hidden layers. Any transparent areas that remain are filled with white.When you save a flattened image, you cannot revert back to the unflattened state;the layers are permanently merged.1. Make sure that all the layers you want to keep are visible.2. Choose Layer > Flatten Image, or choose Flatten Image from the Layers panelmenu.

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RESIZING IMAGESResizing in Photoshop can help you print your images in standard photo sizes, resize andpreserve the high quality of digital photos, and enlarge small images to a poster size.

Resizing to a specific sizeTo resize your image to a preset size, follow the steps below:1. In the main menu, go to File > New.2. In the New dialog box, click on the Preset dropdown menu. You will see several presetsizes, such as 2x3, 4x6 and 5x7. Remember that 72 ppi is fine for online images, but a ppiof 150-300 is better for printed images.3. Choose the size that you wish and click OK.

NOTE: All the preset sizes are in portrait orientation. If you wish to resize an image withthe landscape orientation, you need to create your own preset. To create your own size,do the following:1. Type in the values for Width and Height, for example 7x5.2. Type in your desired resolution (150 ppi for high quality prints, and 72 ppi is good forweb images).3. Click the Save Preset button

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Resizing digital photosDigital photos usually have large dimensions but low resolution, 72 ppi, which affectstheir quality when their size is decreased or increased. When printed, the photos with thechanged size will look pixilated. To resize the digital photos without loosing the quality,follow these steps:1. Open the digital photo you wish to resize.2. In the main menu, go to View > Rulers. You will see the dimension of your photo.

3. In the main menu, go to Image > Image Size.4. In the Image Size dialog box, uncheck the Resample Image box (Figure 19). Type in yourdesired resolution (anything between 150 and 300 ppi). The photo is now 3.208 x 3.083inches.

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EnlargingIf you want to make your digital photo into a poster size image, you can do it in the ImageSize dialog box. However, just increasing the dimensions will make the image appearblurry and pixilated. To enlarge the image without losing the quality, follow these steps:

1. Open the digital image you wish to enlarge.2. In the main menu, go to Image > Image Size.3. In the Image Size dialog box, make sure the Resample Image box is checked and chooseBicubic Smoother from the dropdown box.

NOTE: If the Resampling box is unchecked, the dropdown menu is inaccessible. Always besure to have it checked.

4. Change the Width and Height measurements to Percent. Type in 110. This will increasethe size of the image by 10 percent.5. Continue enlarging by 10 percent until you are satisfied with the size.

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12. Correcting ImagesDigital cameras tend to cause various problems, such as “red eye” or “hot spots”, if youuse flash, or they are underexposed if you don’t. In Photoshop, you can correct theseproblems, as well as adjust the overall color of your digital photo.

Red Eye RemovalThe digital camera flash is located right above the lens, which causes the “red-eye”;however, you can fix your photos easily in Photoshop. To remove the “red eye”, follow thesteps below:1. Open a photo you wish to correct.2. Select the Zoom Tool from the Toolbox. Click and drag a rectangle around the eye.

3. Make sure your default Foreground and Background colors are black and white. (PressD to set it to default Black Foreground and White Background)4. Click and hold on the little black triangle of the Healing Brush Tool button and selectthe Red Eye Tool.

5. Click on the red part of the eye and paint, holding down the mouse button. You will seehow the red will disappear.

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Adding FlashIf you took pictures indoors without a flash, they will turn out underexposed and dark. Tofix underexposed photos, follow these steps:1. Open a digital photo you wish to correct.

2. In the main menu, go to Layers > Duplicate Layer. In the next window, name the layer,Layer 1.3. Make sure Layer 1 is selected in the Layers palette. Select Image from the main menu,select Adjustments and select Exposure. Select the amount of exposure. The whole imagewill lighten.

4. Keep duplicating Layer 1 (Press Ctrl+J) until you are satisfied with the your image.

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HOW TO REMOVE WATERMARK FROM AN IMAGE

A lot of pictures over the internet contain a watermark over them. We would love toget rid of those watermarks and use the pictures. So here is a method

1. Make a selection around the watermark text or symbol using the Magic Wand Tool

2. Now we make changes to the marked area. Press Shift+F5 or go to Edit >Fill. Youwill get a Fill Palette box.

3. Select under Use: Content-Aware, Mode: Normal, Opacity: 100%. Click Ok or pressEnter.

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4. Deselect the area using Ctrl+D. You can see that the watermarked area has beenfilled with the contents of the image.

5. Now we remove the outline of the watermark using the Clone Stamp Tool.

6. Pick the surrounding background near the watermark outline and paint it over theoutline.

You get your final image.

Photoshop is easy and fun to learn. There are a lot of resources available on theInternet. Know what you want to do with the image and just give a Google search. Youwill definitely get help on whatever you want to achieve with the image.

You can follow the following YouTube Channel for videos on Photoshop. They haveamazing tricks and methods to help you get what you want.

YouTube Channel: Blue Lightning TV

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