Photoshop+is+Phun

 ** Photoshop Phun ** The best way to get to know or get better with Photoshop is to continually practice with it…working through tutorials that challenge you to use new techniques and learning new tips and tricks that you can share with each other. Below is a list of websites that I have found and use when needing help to create a graphic or even just alter one for my purposes. Even if you do not plan on entering a field that involves creating original graphics some basic Photoshop skills could prove invaluable if you want to edit or enhance photos you take.

===We will do a tutorial together from this page. The remaining tutorials there are excellent for gaining an introduction to Photoshop. === ===[] ===

[] [] [] [] [] [] []  [] - video tutorials  [] - specific to Photoshop 7

and of course, all of these above and more can be found at []

Using the websites I provided above, or one that you discover on your own, you are going to complete five different projects using Photoshop. Your own creativity is your only limitation; your projects must meet the simple guidelines below.

Project 1:
Edit an already existing photo or graphic. You can resize, recolor, add text, enhance, remove things, apply a texture, etc.

Project 2:
Create a collage. Using a minimum of three separate images create a collage by bringing the three images together as one. Try to be creative with this, don’t just put three square images side by side to one another and call it done…try blending them together.

Project 3:
Create a banner/header image that you would use at the top of a webpage. The content of the image is up to you but it has to be something suitable for the top of a homepage of a website.

Project 4:
Create a graphic completely from scratch. This can be a button, a company logo, text with cool effects, some type of background image for a computer desktop, website, ipod, smartphone, etc. You'll start with a new blank workspace and start there.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline;">Project 5:
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline;">Create an image that is “3D” in appearance. This does not mean simply go into the 3D menu of Photoshop and create a soda can with a picture on it, that's the easy way out and not what I am looking for. This could be a logo for a business, a spherical object, make something “pop out” from the screen. This can be achieved using different glow or shadow effects. There are many tutorials available online that can help you.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Segoe UI','Lucida Grande',Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">** Your Final Product ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: inherit; font-size: 17px; vertical-align: baseline;">Create a new Word document titled "Photoshop Phun" and insert your five final products (with the before images) into that page. You will required to include the before image (for the projects that require a before image) and an after image. Resize the images so they correctly fit on the page. Include below the images the URL of the tutorial you used to help you and a short paragraph giving me a little information about it. Was it fun? Was it easy to follow? Will you use that technique again in the future?

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Segoe UI','Lucida Grande',Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">My Example = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Segoe UI','Lucida Grande',Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Segoe UI','Lucida Grande',Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #444444; font-family: 'Segoe UI','Lucida Grande',Arial; vertical-align: baseline;">To create this graphic I used a picture of myself that I had already applied a comic book appearance to using another tutorial I found online, a large graphic of a comic book style superman and the superman logo. I first removed the background from the superman image using the quick selection tool and the background eraser. Next, I selected and moved my head from the portrait photo and placed it over the superman head lowering the opacity to make sure I covered superman’s head completely and lined up the features such as the eyes, nose and mouth. I adjusted the color balance and the brightness/contrast to get the skin tones of the portrait and the superman image to match up. Finally, I enlarged the superman logo, applied a background color and played with different blending options to get the finally result you see in the picture.