Photoshop Basics Lecture Notes

Introduction to Photoshop

• Purpose: A program to edit and create images made of pixels.
• Definition of a Pixel: A small box with one color; together, they form an image.

Home Screen and Workspace

• Home Screen: Shows recent projects and assets.
• Workspace: Where you do your work in Photoshop.
• Navigation:
  • Home button: Returns to home screen.
  • Photoshop icon: Access workspace.

Key Components of Photoshop Workspace

1. Tools
   • Used for working on images (e.g., brush tool, selection tools).
2. Panels
   • Control different functions (e.g., layers panel, colors panel).
3. Canvas
   • Where your artwork is created.

Customizing Workspace

• Resetting Workspace:
  • Go to Window > Workspace > Reset Essentials to restore default layout.
• Saving a Custom Workspace:
  • After customizing, save it via Window > Workspace > New Workspace.

Important Panels and Tools

Tools Panel

• Contains various tools for editing (e.g., move tool, brush tool).
• Move Tool (V): Used to move elements.
• Brush Tool (B): Used for painting on the canvas.
• Text Tool (T): Used for adding text.

Options Bar

• Displays options relevant to the selected tool.

Status Bar

• Located at the bottom; displays image zoom level and document dimensions.

Menu Bar

• Located at the top; used to access various functions (e.g., file creation, filters).

History Panel

• Records actions taken; allows undoing and redoing actions.
  • Undo: Ctrl + Z
  • Redo: Ctrl + Shift + Z

Working with Files

• Opening a File:
  • Use File > Open or drag and drop into Photoshop.
• Creating a New File:
  • Use File > New and set dimensions and settings.
• Saving a File:
  • File > Save to save changes to the original document.
  • Use File > Save As to create a new version.
• Saving as Different Formats:
  • Options for JPEG, PNG, PSD, etc., depending on layers present.

Transforming Images

• Use Ctrl + T to transform layers (scale, rotate, flip).
• Anchor Points: Control where transformations occur.

Project Overview

• Example Project: Changing the background of an image.
  • Use the properties panel to remove backgrounds and apply adjustments.

Conclusion

• Understanding concepts is key to mastering Photoshop.
• Curiosity and practice are essential for improvement.