Photoshop Help
From digmovements
Contents |
[edit] Photoshop Help
Feel free to add any advice or help you can think of.
[edit] Keyboard Shortcuts
These are the keyboard shortcuts that I use the most.
- “V” – Move Tool.
- “⌘ Z” – Undo
- “⌘⌥ Z” – Step backward (if you want to undo multiple things)
- “⌘ +” – Zoom In
- “⌘ -” – Zoom Out
- “M” – Marquee Tool
- “T” – Text Tool
- “I” – Eyedropper Tool (for extracting a color from something)
- “⌘ D” – Deselect
- “⌘ Z” – Paste
- “⌘ C” - Copy
[edit] Notes From Amy's Layers Classes
[edit] Layer Styles
- To style your layer, double click on the layer palette where its blank and it opens styling options.
- To make a layer group, at the bottom of the layer palette is the folder icon. Click on that and you can just drag and drop layers into it.
- Use layer group to link positioning of layers, control visibility, together. To move layers within a group separately, expand the later group and select each layer as you wish to move it.
- Use apple key to select to nonconsecutive laters and link them together with the link symbol at the bottom.
[edit] Layer Masks
- To make a layer mask, extract your mask shape from its background.
- Place the background layer on top of the mask layer, hover mouse between two layers with option key held down, and this creates the layer mask.
- What is revealed behind the layer mask is everything that is transparent on the shape layer.
[edit] Filters for Illustrative Effects
- Make multpile layers of the same thing, use filter effects on one or more, experiment with opacity of layers, then blend them.
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- Put the photo under the filtered layer and adjust opacity of filtered layer to let photo show through.
- Layer blending options - normal is just layer order; experiment with other blending options.
- Always remember to examine opacity to refine effects.
- Keep in mind that many of the filters are governed by the colors you have set in your forground and background choices. Sample foreground and background colors from your image. Try reversing foreground and background to experiment with effects.
- Adjust level of detail on your filter - less detail is more when it comes to illustrative effects.
- Good idea - to make a layer group, or lock them together (with the chainlink option at the bottom of the palette to keep them from getting nudged apart.
- Changing layer order dramatically changes the effects of filtered layer blending.
- Sketch filters are the most useful for Amy, especially when you're working with actual photographs and are trying to make illustrative effects.
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- Photocopy and stamp filters are good.
[edit] Downloading Brushes
Brusheezy photoshop brushes Also, see Deviantart.com
- Stay organized and start a brushes folder from the start.
- Choose your brush, download it, expand it, save it in your brushes folder. Discard the zip file.
- Go back to Photoshop, go to the brush tool, then to the drop-down define brush palette.
- On that palette, open tiny little triangle in the upper right corner - the brush settings palette.
- Choose "load brushes", choose the .abr file, or the whole folder if there are multiple brushes in it.
- Then, create a new layer to paint with that new brush. You don't want to actually paint on top of a photo or other good layers.
- The brush will paint with whatever is the foreground color you have selected. Also consider modifying the diameter.
- Often they will look best at their native resoulution, which is shown at the bottom of brush icon. But it's worth trying it to see.
- Move the brushed layer around, try resizing it. Experiment with layer order.
[edit] Notes from Hugh's Photographic Quality Classes
[edit] Photo Content Advice
- Scale your images up in the scanner software to maximize resolution for printing.
- Higher contrast gives a sense of depth; blacks recede; highlights come forward.
- To adjust color balance, beginners use Variations tool a the bottom of image adjust menu.
[edit] Tool Tips
- When you're using a tool options to make adjustments, if you hold down the alt and click, the cancel goes to reset.
- Double click the hand to go to fit screen.
- Use the sponge tool on dodge/burn menu for selective desaturation.
