Photoshop Tools and Features User Log

The purpose of this log is for you to record what tools and features you used in the creation of
your digital graphics. You should try to use as many as possible and you must record how, why
and when you used them. You do not need to record repeated actions but each single new action
should be recorded. An example of this would be setting up a new Photoshop file/image which
would cover the ranges; Image Settings (all) and part of Menus (some of). You only need to do
this once. Remember that where the e.g. appears in a range, as many of the items should be
covered as possible but not all of them; your tutor will guide you here. Where possible you should
also provide a screen dump to illustrate the action (see sample image below).

Tools and features How, why and when used.

Menus:

Open;

Clicking file above the menu bar

in Photoshop then on the drop
down menu, click Open. This
shows which image you would
like to load either from a different
folder or areas. You will need to
use this in order to open a file in
Photoshop.

save;

You can save by holding CTRL

key and pressing S at the same
time or save as to find the
correct folder destination on
where you would like to save in.
This is to prevent files being lost
and to be able to locate the file
again if needed and to carry on
where you last saved.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

Screen dump

edit;

The edit drop down menu

enables you to adjust the image
depending on which option is
used. The options I have used
are:
Stroke this makes the drawn
lines smoother by adjusting the
opacity, thickness, alternate
colour, etc.
Puppet warp This creates a
mesh around the image layer.
You then add nails which holds
the image in certain position that
acts as a bone. Then you can
freely move the image however
you want it to move without
drawing the movement.

Free transform/transform This

allows you to select the image on
how you want to
rotate/reverse/stretch/etc. This
tool is good to move around the
image giving you absolute control
on how you want the image to be
displayed like.
Fill - This option lets you choose
which area to fill in provided you
choose your own colour. Types of
areas can be filled in such as:
foreground colour, background
colour, etc. Not only can you just
fill the image with just one
colour, but also using patterns.

Image settings:
size;

Resolution;

You can adjust the image of the

size via width and height. Once
you pressed OK, the image will
display the size according to
what you chose. You can also
change the measurement you
prefer such as pixels, inches,
picas, column, etc.
Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

width;
height;

colour mode;

background;

transparency;

file name

Drawing tools:

tool options;
brus
h;

penci
l;

This will change how wide of the

image you want it to be and the
length of the image according to
the size you type.
The colour mode allows you to
change from bitmap, grayscale,
CMYK colour and lab colour. This
is convenient if you prefer to
choose a different colour mode
for the file such as grayscale,
this makes the image black and
white only and any other colours
used will be automatically
become black and white.
This is where you can change the
background either white,
transparent or using your own
personalised background colour.
Upon creating a new image, you
have the choice to select the
background content. By making
the image transparent, this
means that whenever you create
a text and place it on a website,
it will show up with no white
background.
When creating a new image file,
you can give a name for that
image. This is so that once you
save the image
you do not need to rename the
file again.

The brush is a primary tool to

draw on Photoshop. The brush
tool size can be adjusted as well
as the opacity from 100% to 0%
as well as the flow of the line.
This is used when you want to
create vector lines using the pen
tool. This creates a path
according to the brush settings.
The pencil is used to draw pixel
lines. This colours in one pixel
block which is excellent for pixel
Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

art but can also be time

consuming.

The clone tool is useful when it

comes to repairing images or
attempting to make an image
look even. By holding ALT, you
will need to select the similar
pattern you would like to clone.
Once youve picked up the
cloned area, you can then go to
the spot you would like to repair
by clicking the area.

clon
e;

The paint bucket tool on the left

hand side of the tool bar allows
you to fill the entire image of the
colour youve selected rather
than painting each section. This
is much quicker.

The text tool allows you to add

words by typing what you want
on the image. You can change
the font and the colour as well.
This can then be rasterised
which can then be edited in
advanced.
The line tool lets you create a
straight line without great
difficulty and allows you to get a
smooth line without a heavy
pixelated effect.
The shape tool allows you to
choose from:

fill;

text
;

line;

shape;

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

Rectangle, Ellipses, Rounded

Rectangle, Polygon, line or your
own custom shape tool. This
creates special shapes very
easily without having to use pentool to plot anchor points for a
certain desired shape.

You can find zoom on the side

tool bar by selecting the
magnifying glass. This enables
the user to zoom into the picture
if they desire to retouch photos
or to edit minor errors.

zoo
m;

Paletts, e.g.
colour,
gradients,
layers, object,
brushes,
history,
actions, size,
resolution;

The colour palette allows me to

choose variety shades of colours
or I could use the swatch to pick
a pre-set colour thats available
for me to use.
The layer tab displays which
layer you are currently working
on. This means that If you are
creating a complicated logo, you
would divide each layer to the
specific graphic such as text,
design, etc. This makes things
very organised and upon
finishing with the layers, they
can then be combined by
merging altogether.
The brush option allows you to
select different types of brushes
that give different type of brush
effects, e.g. a star brush.
Brushes can also be resized as
well as changing the opacity and
the flow of the colour.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS


Layers, e.g.
copying, saving,
arranging;
flattening;
colour selection,

On the right hand side displays a

tab which says layers. This is
where you can arrange layers
according to which piles on top
first. You can also flatten/merge
layers together so that it blends
together. You can also move a
layer by selecting, hold and drag
to another image file. This moves
the layer into another image file.
If youve

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

shape, you then join the last

magnetic strip onto the end of
the shape. This joins all of the
shape together and is now
selected.

Transform, e.g.
scale, rotate,
skew, flip; cut;
copy; paste;
crop; trim;
erase; undo; fill

Advanced tools:
Effects, e.g.
layer effects,
filters, channels;
image
adjustments,

The transform tool can be found

on the top menu via edit >
transform. This allows you to
rotate, skew, scale, warp, etc. of
the image. You can also choose
to select free Transform which
allows you to scale the image
and rotate at the same time. By
selecting a certain layer within
the image, you can also
transform the selected layer
without selecting other layers.

The types of effects I have used

are:
Outer Glow This gives the
image a faded light surrounding
which is quite nice looking. You
can also change the outer glow
to a more intense, precise so
that its only a thick outline
around the image.
Bevel and Emboss Bevel and
Emboss creates text and images
a 3D effect as well as
customising how soft you want
the 3Dness to be or alternatively
how intense and pronounce it
shows.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

I mage
adjustments,
e.g.
brightness and
contrast, hue and
saturation, colour
balance, gradients,
transparency,
invert; masks;
Paths, e.g. vector
paths, converting
text to paths;
image slicing.

You can change the brightness and

contrast by going on the top menu
bar selecting image > adjustments >
brightness/contrast. This allows you
to set the brightness and contrast to
the picture according to what you
want which makes the image colours
pop out or by decreasing the
brightness an
d contrast to dark
tones.
Vector paths
Vector paths are
created by using the pen tool where
you click on a blank space to plot an
anchor point.Then you connect the
anchor points together to form a
complete shape then according to
the brush size adjusted e.g. 3 px with
100 % hardness, you then right click >
stroke path > paint brush to create a
smooth line over the shape. This is
best used when cre
ating smooth
curves and lines without hassle doing
it hands
-free.
Text to Path
You can also create
custom text style by using the pen
tool to create certain curves and then
by clicking the pen tool to add text to
the path
. This can also cause the text
t o warp in different ways such as: arc,
flag, fish, inflate, squeeze, etc. This is
used to give text a more exotic look
than a plain standard straight text.
Image Slicing
Image slicing in
Photoshop is very handy when it
comes to making a full layout This
tool slices a whole image into parts.
Once the image is sliced into parts
specifically, you can then save it for
web & devices. From there on, you
can save it as HTML and Images
which the sliced images are then
coded specifically so that you when
you load the image into
Dreamweaver, the coding also loads
all intact when viewing the image via
Dreamweaver. This allows you to
customise.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS