Photoshop CS3 for Screen Printers- P3 pptx

You can display as many palettes as you like or will fit on your screen. If your screen resolution is set to a low resolution like 800 x 600, you’ll probably want to collapse most of the palettes. In fact, at that resolution, you may not even be able to see all of the tools in the toolbox. A higher resolution lets you see more items on the screen, and that’s better for Photoshop. What you see will differ depending on your screen resolution; however, this image does give you a feel for how your screen should look. If your screen resolution is too low to handle everything in the Photoshop interface, try changing it to something higher, such as 1152 x 864. . Note: Although you should use the highest resolution that works for both you and your computer, many of the screen shots in this book were taken using a lower resolution so they would be more readable. This might cause some minor differences between the screen shot and what you see on your screen, but for the most part, you won’t n otice any difference at all. The Default Palettes The default palettes, as shown in Figure 3-1, contain two or three sepa- rate palettes that are docked together. The first one contains the Navigator, Histogram, and Info palettes. Navigator, Histogram, and Info Palettes These three palettes are docked together because they are each used for obtaining information about an open file. The Navigator palette allows you to quickly change the viewing area of the file on which you are work - ing. You can quickly zoom in and out and view additional palette options. The Histogram palette lets you view the Histogram of the image (more on that later), and select sliders for various color choices like RGB, CMYK, and Web colors. With these sliders you can make adjust - ments to the color levels and tones. The Info palette displays information about the color that’s directly underneath the location of the mouse pointer in the image, and displays additional information depending on the tool chosen. As a graphic artist, 36 Part I / The Photoshop Interface this information can be quite useful when matching a color or working between different color models. The Info palette offers other information, including the following: n X and Y values are shown when using the Crop tool, the marquee tools, the Zoom tool, and the Line, Pen, and Gradient tools. n Readouts can be configured to show values for actual color, proof color, grayscale, RGB color, web colors, HSB, CMYK, and lab colors, and total ink or opacity. There are two sets of readouts, both of which can be set. Let’s explore these palettes and view colors for an RGB file: 1. Open the Ducky.tif file from the Samples folder stored in the Adobe program folder. (This procedure was detailed in Chapter 2.) 2. Make sure the Navigator palette is open, as shown in Figure 3-2. To verify that the default palettes are available, choose Window> Workspace>Reset Palette Locations.Forthisfigure,I’ve dragged the palette closer to the image. 3. Click the Info tab to access the Info palette. Chapter 3 / The Palettes 37 Figure 3-2: Using the Navigator palette 4. Click the arrow in this palette to see the additional options, and choose Palette Options. 5. From the Info Options dialog box, change the first option to RGB Color and the second to CMYK Color. Click OK. 6. Select the Eyedropper tool from the toolbox. Remember, you can also select the Eyedropper by pressing I on the keyboard. 7. Hover the Eyedropper over a color in the image. In the Info palette you can see the values for the color. Move the mouse around to see the values of the other colors. Check out the setting when you hover over the white part of the image. Notice the RGB values are all at 255 (that’s the highest). Now, hover over the black part of the image. Notice the RGB values now lean toward all zeros. That’s the lowest number. 8. Shift+click on the image to add a sampled color to the Info palette. You can then compare the colors from this selection to other areas of the image. You can add up to four sampled colors here. This is quite useful when you need to know if one yellow in an image is pretty close to another yellow in the image. 9. ClickontheNavigator tab to open the Navigator palette. Use the slider bar to zoom in or out, or click on the zoom icons in this palette. 10. Click the Histogram tab. Notice the Histogram chart. A histogram is a graphical representation of the color data in the image. Click the arrow in this palette and choose All Channels View. While this is beyond the scope of this chapter, after learning how to read these histograms you can tell if a photo is underexposed or overexposed (among a multitude of other flaws), and use the tools in Image> Adjustments>Levels to correct what’s wrong. Go ahead and open Image>Adjustments>Levels toviewthetools,andmovethe slider to see one of the ways you can use levels and histograms to change the image on the screen. 11. Select Window>Workspace>Reset Palette Locations before continuing. There is much more on colors later in this book; this chapter is only meant to familiarize you with the available palettes. 38 Part I / The Photoshop Interface Color, Swatches, and Styles Palettes These palettes are docked together because they all have to do with the colors in the foreground and background of an image or the style of the selected layer. The Color palette displays information about the current foreground and background colors and allows you to change the colors as desired and/or base the colors on different color models. The Swatches palette also allows you to choose a foreground or background color, but also lets you add or delete colors from the Swatches library of colors. The Styles palette lets you apply a preset style to a selected layer, which can be the foreground or background, or load different libraries of styles. Project 3-1: Creating a Custom Foreground and Background Color Photoshop CS3 uses foreground and background colors to determine which color will be applied when a specific tool is chosen and used. The foreground color is used when paint tools are chosen and when fill and stroke tools are selected. The foreground color is also used by some of the special effect filters. The background color is used when creating gra- dient fills, when creating a new file using the background color, or when filling in an erased area of the image. You can use the Color and Swatches palettes to create a new fore- ground and background color, to edit the colors based on different color models, and to see alerts concerning colors that are out of the printable color spectrum for the color model that you’ve selected. In this project, you’ll create a custom foreground and background color through various methods, including using sliders, using the Swatches palette, typing in specific values, and using the Eyedropper tool. You will probably be called upon at some point to create a specific color for a client who needs his colors matched exactly, needs the colors guaranteed the same every time, or needs to have colors match some industry specification. (Of course, printing it exactly or matching it from your shop’s ink selection is another story, but I’ll save that discussion for later!) 1. Close any open files. If the Ducky.tif file is open, close it without sav - ing the changes. Choose File>New to open a new file. Accept the default width and height (which will match the resolution set for your monitor) and RGB Color, 8 bit, and in the Background Contents, select Background Color. Click OK. (Note that we aren’t going to Chapter 3 / The Palettes 39 actually do anything to the file, we simply must open a file to access the tools I want to explore here.) 2. A new file will open, and the color of the new file will be filled with the current background color. It could be any color! You can see the background color that’s currently set at the bottom of the toolbox. Now, locate the Color, Swatches, and Styles palettes. (If they aren’t visible, choose Window>Workspace>Reset Palette Locations.) 3. Choose the Color palette by clicking on its tab; you’ll want the RGB colors and sliders to be showing. If the RGB sliders aren’t showing, click the down arrow and, from the additional options, select RGB Sliders as shown in Figure 3-3. (Don’t worry if your numbers don’t match mine.) 4. In the Color palette, select the background color square by clicking on it. A black outline will show around it. The background color is represented by the square in the background, in Figure 3-3, it’s the white color square. Click it again to open the Color Picker. Make sure the title of the new window is Color Picker (Background Color). To create a custom foreground color, you select the foreground color square and click it again to open the Color Picker (Foreground Color) window. 5. Hover the mouse over the color ramp and click on a new color. Notice that the sliders move and the color shown in the background color square changes. (This activity does not change the background color of the file; it only changes the background color in the toolbox for the next use.) Click OK. 40 Part I / The Photoshop Interface Figure 3-3: The Color palette and its options 6. Next, move the sliders in the Color palette manually. Notice that the color shown in the background box changes again. You can change the amount of red, green, and blue with the sliders. 7. You can also double-click on the background color in the Color pal - ette and select a new color from the Color Picker that appears by clicking on the desired color. 8. Type in numbers in the RGB boxes to create your own color based on color values. The numbers must be from 0 to 255. ] Tip: Each of these steps can also be applied after selecting the foreground or background color in the Color palette, as well as from the toolbox. 9. Click on the additional options and notice how many color models there are. Select CMYK and then Web Color Sliders to see addi- tional options. 10. Click the Swatches tab to open the Swatches palette. Select a color from the swatch choices and watch the foreground color change. 11. Click the additional options under this palette. Additional options are found under the down arrow. There are several libraries of colors to choose from. Select Pantone Solid to Process and click OK when prompted to load the new library. 12. Double-click on any color to see its name and Pantone number. Pantone numbers are quite important when creating artwork for larger companies. The blue used in your local hospital’s logo is likely not the same blue used for your favorite detergent’s logo. 13. When finished exploring, choose the additional options again and choose Reset Swatches. Click OK when prompted. If you are new to screen printing and graphic work, all of these color options might seem a little overwhelming; if you are an old hand at the art, you might be so excited about these options that you can hardly stay in your seat. Whatever the case, there is more on colors and swatches later in this book; for now, knowing how to access the palettes and select a color or two is all you really need to understand. Chapter 3 / The Palettes 41 Layers, Channels, and Paths Palettes The last default palette box contains three palettes (Layers, Channels, and Paths) and is shown in Figure 3-4. 6 Caution! Your default palettes may not look like this if you’re using 800 x 600 resolu - tion; change to 1024 x 768 or higher if you haven’t done so already. . Note: Layers, channels, and paths are all rather complex concepts in Photoshop and are detailed in various chapters throughout the book. For now it is only important to understand a little about layers and that layers c an be edited here. Layers are like transparencies, which are clear plastic sheets of material that can be printed on. The transparencies can be printed and stacked on top of one another to form a complex picture, and single transparencies 42 Part I / The Photoshop Interface Figure 3-4: The Layers, Channels, and Paths palettes can be removed from the stack for editing or removal. When you create artwork in Photoshop CS3, you can create it on layers similar to these transparencies—text on one layer, background image on another, and perhaps a selection pasted from another file on another. These layers can then be edited independently of each other, making the editing process more efficient and precise. Viewing a Multilayered Image To see an example of a multilayered image, open the DVDMenu.psd file from the Samples folder of the Adobe program files on your hard drive. Look in the Layers palette for the five layers in the image. You might also want to view the following files: · Layer Comps · Onion Stack To see how layers work, in the Layers palette, click the eye icon in the Title layer. The eye will disappear, as will the title in the image. Click the eye icon again t o redisplay the layer. Very, very, powerful stuff! Additional Palettes There are additional palettes available that aren’t shown on the interface by default, including the History, Actions, Tool Presents, Brushes, and Character palettes. Let’s take a moment to look at a few of these. History and Actions Palettes To view the History and Actions palettes, click the double arrow next to the Navigator palette. This will expand the palette dock and allow you to see the additional default palettes. The History palette helps you correct errors (by storing what you’ve done to a file previously) and allows you to “go back” to a point before a particular edit was made by simply clicking on the appropriate step. If you realize you made a mistake 15 steps ago, instead of clicking Edit>Step Backward 15 times, you can simply find the point in the History palette. Chapter 3 / The Palettes 43 The Actions palette lets you record, play, edit, and delete specific actions or load action files. Action files can include adding text effects, image effects, and production actions, such as changing a custom RGB file to grayscale or saving a file as a JPEG, and will increase the effi - ciency in which you perform often-repeated tasks. You can also purchase actions from third-party vendors and software manufacturers; these actions will usually perform extremely complex sets of instructions. Tool Presets Palette The Tool Presets palette lets you load, save, and replace tool preset libraries for quick reference. Saving custom preset tools allows you to reuse custom tools without recreating them each time. Creating a new tool preset is easy; just choose a tool, configure the options you want to set for the tool, and choose New Tool Preset from the additional options available from the Tool Presets palette. ] Tip: When you begin to create logos and artwork, keep the History and Tool Presets palettes open. Refer to the History palette often for a quick and painless way to revert back any number of steps to “undo” actions per- formed. Use the Tool Presets to quickly access preconfigured tools. Brushes Palette The Brushes palette can be opened using Window>Brushes, or you can expand the Dock as previously noted. From here, you can create or access thousands of types of brushes and configure them to meet any drawing need. You’ll use brushes when you create logos and artwork, and you can even use the airbrushes to create airbrushed artwork. 6 Caution! Make sure that a brush is chosen when accessing the Brushes palette; other - wise, all of the brushes will be grayed out! 44 Part I / The Photoshop Interface Character and Paragraph Palettes The Character palette can be opened using Window>Character. You can also expand the Dock and have the Paragraph palette open with it, or you can use Window>Paragraph if you like. With these palettes, the offset printer, logo designer, CAD cutter, or sign maker can format the text used in a file. This includes choosing or changing the font, font style, and font size, as well as making precise changes to text, such as leading, kerning, scale, and baseline shift. Paragraphs can also be formatted, including indentation, orientation, and hyphenation rules. Many of these attributes can also be changed from the options bar while adding the text itself; all of these points are covered in Chapter 9, “Working with Text and Numbers.” Since I haven’t discussed adding type yet, I’ll save this discussion for later. Pop-up Palettes Some palettes are not available from the Window menu choices and appear instead when a specific tool is chosen and being configured. These palettes are called pop-up palettes for this reason. Let’s look at a few of these palettes: 1. Close any open files. Then choose File>New to create a new canvas to work with. 2. Choose RGB Color,awhite background, and accept the rest of the default settings. 3. Choose Window>Workspace>Reset Palette Locations to revert the workspace to its defaults. 4. Select the Brush tool from the toolbox. 5. Click on the down arrow to the right of the word Brush in the options bar; it is the second down arrow on the bar. Chapter 3 / The Palettes 45 [...]... options are shown for multiple tools, such as Opacity and Brush, while others are only available for a specific tool, like Resize Windows To Fit when using the Zoom tool 51 52 Part I / The Photoshop Interface Note: As with the remaining chapters of this book, not every option is covered Photoshop can be overkill for screen printers and graphic artists, as they most likely don’t create images for the web... and artwork Even though you can personalize the workspace, for now consider leaving it as is until you are comfortable with what is available by default Chapter 4 The Options Bar The options bar is another part of Photoshop CS3 s interface and changes each time a tool is chosen from the toolbox Figures 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3 show the options bar for various tools From here, the tool can be configured Note:... command Type a name for the workspace in the Save Workspace dialog box, and it becomes available from the Window>Workspace choices Note: In Chapter 5, “Personalizing the Workspace,” we create a workspace specific to your needs as a screen printer and artist Palette Tips and Tricks There are several tips and tricks out there for palette configuration, and although they’re documented in Photoshop s help... Some modes you might use include: n Normal: This mode is the default mode for painting and editing for most of the tools Normal mode simply replaces the underlying pixels with the pixels you add to the image by painting or brushing It is merely uncomplicated replacement of color n Multiply and Screen: When using Multiply mode, the foreground color is combined with the original colors in the image to decrease... Don’t worry too much about the huge number of modes shown in Figure 4-5 Most screen printers don’t spend much time applying modes for creating special effects or lightening or darkening images Most of the time, you’ll use the Image>Adjustments>Curves command to change the colors in an image; it’s fast, easy, and a common tool for screen printers Using this option offers a preview of the color changes made... palette Again, click the arrow for additional options 10 From the toolbox, choose the Custom Shape tool 11 Click the down arrow next to the word Shape on the options bar to see the pop-up palette for the custom shapes When finished, close the file As you can probably surmise from the multitude of palettes and options, there are literally thousands of configurations possible for brushes, tools, palettes,... emphasizing the darker colors Screen is just the opposite and works in tandem with lighter colors n Light modes: There are several light modes, including Vivid Light, Linear Light, Pin Light, Soft Light, and Hard Light, and each applies light to the image in different ways Most produce special effect type lighting n Hue: Hue paints with the foreground shade only and is good for applying tint to areas...46 Part I / The Photoshop Interface 6 The resulting list is called a pop-up palette Click the right arrow to see the additional options I’ve chosen to view my pop-up palette using the Large Thumbnail option, but you can choose whatever option is best for you, as shown in Figure 3-5 Figure 3-5: The pop-up palette for the Brush tool 7 The brushes shown in Figure 3-5... exercise 58 Part I / The Photoshop Interface Figure 4-8: An example of using the Clone Stamp tool This is just one of the uses for a brush As mentioned in the introduction of this section, many tools offer brushes as a way to use the tool effectively You’ll want to become proficient in using, selecting, and configuring brushes Opacity Opacity is available on the Layers palette for working with a fill... layers To see how the Opacity setting functions, work through the following project for creating a gradient layer Chapter 4 / The Options Bar 59 Project 4-2: Creating a Background for a Business Card, Decal, or Mouse Pad (Understanding Opacity) In this project, we create a gradient layer that can be used as a background for a business card, truck or car decal, sign, coffee mug, mouse pad, or process . the screen, and that’s better for Photoshop. What you see will differ depending on your screen resolution; however, this image does give you a feel for how your screen should look. If your screen. layer, which can be the foreground or background, or load different libraries of styles. Project 3-1: Creating a Custom Foreground and Background Color Photoshop CS3 uses foreground and background. of this book, not every option is covered. Photoshop can be overkill for screen printers and graphic artists, as they most likely don’t create images for the web or use filters and gradients much in