[Return to EDIT 772 schedule][Photoshop advanced]

Photoshop basics

1. Getting from one format to another - GIF and JPG are compression schemes ideal only for display on networks; while Photoshop format (.psd) is a rich editing format that can't be displayed on the web.

• Edit in PSD format,
• Save As to create a JPG, and
• Export to save as .GIF

  To do: Doodle around with the drawing and/or text tools and save your result as a .GIF

2. Cropping an image - This one's easy - click on and hold the rectangular Selection tool until the five options appear. Select the cropping tool, then mark out the region of your picture you want to crop. Double-click and you're done.

To do: Crop someone out of this file or this one or a file of your own.

3. Resizing an image - Image Menu, Image Size, and follow the dialog box. Note that you can resize in proportion or out of proportion.

To do: Make a 100-pixel wide thumbnail for one of the images above. Link the thumbnail to the full-size image.

4. Enlarging the canvas or border outside of an image - Image Menu, Canvas size, and follow the dialog box.

To do: Enlarge the canvas around the guy on his head. You'll use this image with the larger canvas in #5 below.

5. Adding drop shadows - This action can only be performed on a layer - not the background layer. The shadow is added to the layer - not the selection. So you need to get a layer that's smaller than the whole image. I think. Here's a method that worked for a Photoshop doofus:

• To do: In #4 you created a blank border around the whole image, so it looks like an image on a mat. Now select just the image - not the mat.
• Cut and paste right back into your image - it looks the same, but you now have two layers - the background mat, and the smaller foreground image.
• Choose Layer/Effects/Drop Shadow - the smaller foreground image will shadow onto the mat

6. Making text banners - The only trick here is to note that the text tool has separate settings for horizontal and vertical - you can't do multiple lines at the same time. Be sure to try out drop shadows on your text!

To do: Make a text banner or button for your site