The first thing that you need to know about Photoshop, before we begin manipulating images, is simply how to open and view files. Photoshop can open a wide variety of file formats, and you can customize your view of an image in a number of different ways, ranging from window sizes to magnification.
This chapter will cover methods of saving your work, because if you don't save, all the changes you make will be lost.
And finally in Day 1, we will examine different methods of image acquisition, such as scanning, photo discs, and digital cameras, weighing such factors as price and how the final image will used.
Photoshop can open a wide variety of images in a wide variety of formats. Formats are different ways that images can be saved for different uses, such as print or the World Wide Web (for more information see Appendix C, "File Formats").
In the Windows world, file formats are defined by the three-letter extensions to file names, such as .doc for a word processing document. Some common graphic file format extensions are:
Mac users are lucky because they have never had to deal with file formats. Macintosh files have what is called a resource fork and a data fork. The data fork, obviously, contains the file's data and the resource fork contains the file's information--whether it is a graphic file, a word processing document, or even a sound. Don't let this worry you Windows users. File names are kind of a pain, but they aren't that difficult.
The most common file format in Photoshop is .psd, which is the native Photoshop file format (Photoshop document). Using this format, you can save an image from any of the modes with which Photoshop works (see Day 4, "Color Modes and Models," for more information on color modes). For now, suffice it to say that the modes are how Photoshop deals with color. The native Photoshop format also enables you to save layers. No other format allows this (for more on Layers see Day 8, "Layers"). For most of the exercises in this book, we will be working with the Photoshop file format.
The drawback to .psd is that it is native to Photoshop and other applications may have trouble opening this format. To move files between applications, to print, or to publish on the World Wide Web, you must save your files in a different format.
Here are some common formats with brief definitions of their uses:
These file formats are available in the Save dialog boxes--File+Save, File+Save As, and File+Save as copy. Just look for the drop-down menu.
NOTE: You will hear the terms lossy and lossless bandied about in discussion of graphics files. These have to do with compression schemes. Say, for instance, you have an image with a lot of sky that is the same shade of blue. A compression scheme will enable you to save just one pixel of that blue instead of all of them. This means that the entire sky will be filled from that one section, giving you a smaller file size but less quality.A lossy compression scheme, then, is one in which you sacrifice file information--the appearance of the file--for file size. A lossless compression scheme retains the original appearance of a file but doesn't compress as much.
If a file is of the proper type (a file format that Photoshop recognizes), often all you will have to do is double-click it with your mouse to not only open it, but to open Photoshop as well.
Sometimes, however, Photoshop doesn't recognize a file as one that it can open. When you find yourself in this situation, you have two options: you can open a file via the File menu or if you are using a Windows machine, you can associate the file with Photoshop.
To open a file via the File menu, simply follow these steps.
Figure 1.1
The File+Open command.
Figure 1.2
The Open dialog box.
Windows 95 has made enormous strides in improving the user interface for PCs, but files, as we discussed previously, still rely on three-character file extensions to define their type, and if that file extension is not there, you have to add it.
This method, however, assumes that you know the type of file you are dealing with. If you don't know what the file's specific format is, try opening the file via the File+Open command. If this doesn't work, you may be dealing with a damaged file.
After you have opened your file, save it with the File+Save command and Photoshop will automatically append a file extension.
If you are working in Windows, you may have problems opening certain files because they are associated with different applications. You can double-click a file with the .bmp extension only to find that Windows has opened the native program Paint. Or, as it is set up on my machine, for example, when I double-click a GIF file, Netscape opens instead of Photoshop. This is not a huge problem, but it can be annoying. The solution is to associate all of the graphics file formats with Photoshop.
Here's the process for associating files with Photoshop:
Figure 1.3
The File Types tab of the Options dialog box.
Figure 1.4
This is where you will make the association.
From now on, whenever you click a file of this format, your machine will know that you want to open it with Photoshop. This can be a real time-saver.
NOTE: For Macintosh Users Only: If you have to work cross-platform, that is, on both Macintosh and PC, you should choose to include file extensions with your files. This option is found under File+General Preferences+Append DOS Filenames.
Certain file types cannot be opened by just the File+Open command. Certain types of files must be imported into Photoshop. These are mainly from TWAIN sources, such as scanners. Please consult your scanner's documentation for more information.
Other files that can be imported are those defined as Quick Edit files. This is an option for editing large TIFF or Scitex files. Instead of having to open the entire file, making for slow editing, you can open a portion of the file via the dialog box shown in Figure 1.5.
Figure 1.5
The Quick Edit dialog box.
Importing via Quick Edit:
To save your changes, select File+Export+Quick Edit Save. This will update the entire file with your changes included.
There's more to Photoshop than just opening files, though. Creating a new file in Photoshop is just as easy as opening files. There are just a few more options for you to specify. You will need to create new files when you want to create new artwork or to have a blank sheet on which you can combine images. It is like opening your artist's notebook to a new blank page.
Select File+New, and you will see the New File dialog box (see Figure 1.6).
Figure 1.6
The New File dialog box.
Type a title for your new file at the top of the dialog box, such as Test1. The following sections will give you a brief overview to get you started on setting up a new file.
In this dialog box, you specify the size of your image--width and height--in pixels, inches, centimeters, points, picas, or columns. These are available in drop-down menus that you can access by clicking the small arrow next to the unit of measurement. Select the measurement with which you feel the most comfortable.
Measurements are greatly affected by the resolution of your document, which is set in the Resolution setting of the New File dialog box. If, for instance, your resolution is set to 72 pixels per inch, such as you would use for web publishing, and you set your height and width measurements to 1 inch, you will get a very different look than, say, if you enter a resolution of 300 pixels per inch (see Figure 1.7).
Figure 1.7
Both canvases are set at 1 inch square. The one at left is at 72 pixels per inch.
The one on the right at 300 pixels per inch.
Try this yourself. Create a couple of new files and change the resolutions to 72 pixels per inch and 300 pixels per inch. You can open rulers just as you see in Figure 1.7 by selecting View+Show Rulers.
Also note, however, that the larger you make your image, the more memory it requires (both in RAM to have it open, and on your hard disk to save), so you want to stay within reasonable limits. The image on the left consumes 16 kilobytes of disk space. The one on the right weighs in at 264 kilobytes.
To get an idea of this, create a new file and enter 50 inches for both width and height. Notice the file size reading. It will probably be something like 37 megabytes, and that is just for the canvas space without a single pixel on the "page." It's not hard to imagine the disk real estate that graphic images, such as those generated by Photoshop, can consume.
See Appendix B, "Optimizing Memory Preferences," for some suggestions on the type of hardware you will need to run Photoshop optimally, as well as a listing of external storage devices for storing the large images you will be working with and creating.
The resolution of the image is extremely important. The higher the resolution, the better quality the image (but, as usual, the more memory it requires). Most images that you see in print are close to a resolution of 300 DPI--or Dots Per Inch.
Your computer's monitor, on the other hand, has a DPI of 72, which is substantially lower. Therefore, set the resolution depending on what your output will be. If you intend to publish your images on the web, then anything over 72 DPI is a waste. Computers can't display at a that high of a resolution. If, on the other hand, you are printing to a high- quality laser printer, set the resolution to 200 DPI.
You really would only use 300 DPI if you are looking to create professional color prints. For most of our work and in the tutorials, keep the resolution at 72 DPI. This will keep your machine from slowing down. Also, if you are interested in resolutions for web graphics, check out Day 14, "Photoshop for the Web."
Modes determine the way Photoshop interprets and creates color values. These range from grayscale to CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black). For our purposes, leave RGB (Red, Green, Blue) selected. It is the most flexible for computer color work, and you can always change the mode if you so decide after you begin working. For more information on modes, refer to Day 4.
It is in this section of the New File dialog box that you can select a background for your image.
For this exercise, select White. Then click OK.
NOTE: Importing Files: The import command File+Import is used to work with a scanner, which is what is meant by a TWAIN resource. The import command also enables you to bring in file with formats that have special plug-in modules. Consult your scanner's documentation for further information.
You can have more than one window open within Photoshop at a time, but only one can be the active window. If the window is active, there will be a strip of color across the top; inactive windows are gray.
The canvas is the large white square within the window (see Figure 1.8). This is where you will create and edit images. The canvas can be transparent or the current background color (to ascertain your background color, check your toolbox).
Figure 1.8
The canvas.
Set your mouse cursor at the lower-right corner of the window, and then click and drag. The window expands, but notice that the canvas size stays the same. After you have created a new file, you can only change the size of the canvas by selecting Image+Canvas Size. This command enables you to specify a new height and width for the canvas (see Figure 1.9). The anchor section enables you to specify the base area from which the canvas will expand or shrink.
Figure 1.9
Resizing the canvas.
At the bottom of the Photoshop screen (for Macs, some of this information will appear at the bottom of each active window), you will notice a status bar (see Figure 1.10). This useful feature reminds you which tool is selected and gives you information on its modifier keys. It displays how much memory (hard disk space) the image takes up, how efficiently Photoshop is working in RAM, the current size of the Scratch disk, and how long Photoshop took to perform your last operation.
NOTE: The Scratch disk is Photoshop's version of virtual memory. That means that a portion of your hard disk is used as RAM. It provides a place for images that overflow the existing RAM on your machine to go, enabling you to continue working. If you are working to a large degree in the Scratch disk, you are not working as efficiently as you could, because it is a lot slower than real RAM.The solution is to buy more RAM. Buy as much as you can afford and your machine can take.
Figure 1.10
The Status bar.
The Status bar keeps you apprised of the following information:
Photoshop offers a wonderful feature that enables you to select options without digging through a ton of menus and dialog boxes. These options are found in palettes, which in turn are found under the Window menu. There are palettes available for all the tools in the toolbox, palettes for colors, palettes for swatches, and, in this case, for providing file information and navigating in the active window. We'll discuss the tool palettes on Day 3, "Painting and Drawing Tools."
Select Window+Show Info to open the Information palette (see Figure 1.11). Let's play around with this palette and see what it can do.
First, open the file 01file01 from the CD-ROM. Now, drag your cursor over the image and notice the changes in the Info palette.
Figure 1.11
The Info palette.
The two upper divisions of the palette contain color information. If you click the tiny arrow beneath the eyedropper icons, a drop-down menu will appear from which you can select the desired mode. For now, RGB and CMYK, the default settings, will be fine.
The RGB color model uses different variations of red, green, and blue to display color. The CMYK model uses variations of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Thus, the numbers you see to the right of the RGB and CMYK letters are the relative percentage of those inks in the color your cursor is currently over. For more information on RGB and CMYK, see Day 4.
The section in the lower-left corner of the Info palette gives you a readout of your cursor's location within the boundaries of an image. The upper-left corner of your canvas will be x = 0 and y = 0. As you move to the right the x or horizontal value increases. As you move downward, the y or vertical value increases.
If you click the tiny arrow icon beneath the crosshair icon, you can change the measurements from inches to pixels, centimeters, points, or picas.
The final lower-right section of the Info palette contains information for cropping and selections (see Figure 1.12). It gives you the dimensions of your selection, but we'll talk more about selections and cropping tomorrow.
Figure 1.12
The Info palette with Cropping tool active.
For now, just know that the Info palette is there for your use. It can come in handy when you need to make precise measurements. It can also be of great use when you are working in color.
One of the wonderful things about working with digital images is that not only are they infinitely manipulable, but how you view them can be configured and adjusted considerably to suit your own particular needs.
Turn your attention to the bottom of the toolbox (see Figure 1.13). These buttons change the way your canvas is displayed onscreen.
Try all three and see which one you like the best. I prefer to work in the Standard Screen Mode myself, because you can keep a variety of windows open and in sight. This makes it easier to navigate between them. The Full Screen Mode with Menu bar is kind of nice, though, if you are working only on one piece of art and don't want to be distracted by other windows. For my money, the Full Screen Mode is only good for showing off final pieces; it isn't really that great for working.
NOTE: No matter what screen mode you are using, if you want to hide all of the palettes, the toolbox, and the status bar, simply hit Tab. Hit Tab again to turn everything back on just as it was before.
Figure 1.13
View options in the toolbox.
Here are your options for screen modes:
Figure 1.14
Standard screen view.
Figure 1.15
Full screen mode with menu bar.
Figure 1.16
Full screen view.
You will find most of the options for configuring the way you view images in Photoshop under the Window menu. If, for instance, your screen is becoming cluttered with a variety of open image windows, try selecting Window+Cascade or Window+Tile (this should feel familiar to those of us Windows users who struggled through 3.1). The results are shown in Figures 1.17 and 1.18.
Figure 1.17
Cascaded Windows.
Figure 1.18
Tiled Windows.
If there are too many windows open for either of these commands to be of much help, but you are working on and with all of them, try minimizing the windows by clicking the minimize button (for Windows users) in the upper-right corner (see Figure 1.19).
Figure 1.19
The Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons.
To keep your minimized windows organized, select Window+Arrange Icons. Use the Window+Close All command to close all window. You will be prompted to save. Choose Yes or all of the work you have done on a file will be lost.
This is an incredibly useful feature for viewing as well as editing images. When you magnify an image, it enables you to do precision work. You can edit on a pixel-by-pixel basis, which gives you very fine control over your subject.
NOTE: Pixel is short for picture element. These are the little squares on your screen that make up an image. If you zoom in really close (say around 1000%), you can see them. If you still can't see them, magnify higher. Photoshop enables you to zoom up to 1600%.
There are two ways you can zoom, one of which is under the Window menu. Select Window+Zoom In or Window+Zoom Out to move into and out of the image.
NOTE: The shortcut key for zooming is Ctrl-+ in Windows and Command-+ for the Macintosh. To zoom out, use Ctrl- - in Windows and Command- - for Macintosh.
The Zoom tool is found at the bottom of the toolbox. It resembles a magnifying glass with a (+) sign in it. To magnify an image, select this tool and click in the canvas.
There are several modifier keys that go along with the Zoom tool. If you press Alt (Command on a Macintosh), the (+) sign changes to a (-) sign. This reduces, or zooms out, of an image.
The primary difference between this tool and using the menu commands is that with the Zoom tool you can zoom into particular areas of an image, whereas the Window+Zoom In affects the entire image.
To zoom into a specific area of an image with the Zoom tool, click and hold the mouse button down. This will enable you to drag a marquee (a selection sometimes referred to as the "marching ants") to the area you want to magnify. When you have selected the desired area, simply release the mouse button and the magnification will occur.
Let's experiment with using the Zoom tool to magnify specific sections of an image:
Figure 1.20
Baseball glove and ball.
Figure 1.21
Magnification of the baseball.
Figure 1.22
Magnification of the seams.
Note the blocky appearance of the seams. Things get pretty blurry and blocky at this level of magnification. Those blocks are pixels. And although it may not look like much, if you need to do some very precise work, you'll appreciate this capability. We'll use this technique again on Day 10, "Photo Repair and Special Effects," when we do some photo repairs.
NOTE: Pressing Control-+ (Alt-+ on the Mac) zooms in to the maximum magnification (a ratio of 1:16). You'll know when you are at the maximum magnification because there will no longer be a (+) sign in the Zoom tool. Press Control- - (Alt- - on the Mac) to zoom out to the minimum magnification. Just double-click the Zoom tool to return to 100% (1:1).
The Zoom Options Palette Open the Zoom options palette by selecting the Zoom tool in the toolbox and selecting Window+Show Options (see Figure 1.23). This palette will enable you to control certain Zoom tool behaviors.
Figure 1.23
Zoom Tool Options palette.
Click the Fit on Screen button to zoom out precisely enough so that the canvas fits exactly within the active window. The Actual Pixels button will adjust the magnification to 100%. The Fit on Screen and Actual Pixels options are rarely equivalent.
Keep an eye at the top of the image window for information on the zoom ratio.
NOTE: You can save yourself a special trip to the toolbox if you need the Zoom tool while you are working with another tool. Press Ctrl-Spacebar and click your mouse. Alt-Spacebar invokes the Zoom-out tool.
Open the Navigator palette by selecting Window+Show Navigator (see Figure 1.24). This palette offers a smaller display of the entire image that is on the canvas in your active window.
Figure 1.24
The Navigator palette.
Open the file 01file01 from the CD-ROM. As you can see, the entire image is displayed in the Navigator palette. Now, click the Zoom-in button or drag the slider to the right. The image in your active window will increase and a view box will appear in the Navigator.
Move your cursor over the imagine the Navigator palette (but not directly over the view box). This is the Proxy Preview area. The cursor changes to a pointer. Click and the view box immediately appears in that area.
If you move your cursor over the view box, it will change into a fist icon with which you can drag the view box wherever you want. A real-time (meaning simultaneous) update will occur in the active window. This is a real help when you are searching for an element while zoomed in.
Now click the Navigator palette's menu (the small arrow in the upper-right corner) and select Palette Options. This command enables you to change the color of Navigator's view box. There might come a time when you are looking at an image that is the same color as the box, so this feature comes in very handy.
The last thing that I want to point out to you in regard to the Navigator palette is that it has an equivalent in toolbox. In fact, the Navigator palette serves as this item's options palette. I am referring to none other than the Hand tool.
This is one of the features of Photoshop that you will learn to love, because when you have an image at a high magnification, navigating with scroll bars (the horizontal and vertical bars on the right and bottom of the active window) is unwieldy.
Let's experiment a little with the Hand tool:
The canvas moves however you move. This is very intuitive, and depending on how fast a machine your have, very smooth. Notice the Navigator's view box. It moves as you move. Use the Navigator as a guide.
Photoshop, like most software, requires you to save your work. Few applications, however, offer you the number of options for saving as Photoshop. Saving enables you to save your work, save your work with a different name, or save your work in a different file format. Above all, save often. If your machine locks up or crashes, you will lose all of your work back to the last time you saved. If you saved five minutes ago, you lose five minutes of work. If you saved this morning, and it's quitting time...well, let's just say I've been there, and it hurts.
Open a file of your own or one from the CD-ROM accompanying this book. Any file will do. Here are the different Save options:
NOTE: There is one more option for moving files out of Photoshop. This one is File+Export. There are a variety of options. Probably the most useful is the Export Paths to Illustrator. This enables Illustrator, Photoshop's vector-based sister application, to read Photoshop generated files easily.
Saving your work is essential. Save before you try something new. That way, if the technique turns out rotten, you have a file to revert back to.
Just make sure that you save early and often. Photoshop is a powerhouse program. It takes a lot of system power to run it, so don't be surprised if you Mac users get a frozen mouse on occasion, or you Windows users get a Application not Responding warning. So save your work.
Another way of moving images out of Photoshop instead of merely saving them is to export them. You can export Paths, discussed on Day 8, to Illustrator. Remember from the Introduction that Illustrator is Adobe's vector drawing program. When you export the paths, Illustrator can then open that file.
The other important option is File+Export+GIF89a Export, which is an extremely important file format. It is used for the creation of web graphics (for more information, see Day 14.
The other option is File+Export+QuickEdit Save. To do this, you must have imported the file via Quick Edit. See the section in this chapter devoted to importing files.
Let's turn our attention now, nearing the end of Day 1, to the question of where to get images. This is a good question. Images and ideas for images are all around us--the problem is getting them into the computer where we can change them, enhance them, and make them our own.
NOTE: There are, of course, legal questions and copyright issues. Someone owns those images out there on the web and although they might seem free for the taking, they really are not. One piece of advice--do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I've heard horror stories, so check with the appropriate sources and get the permissions you need before you take an image that's not yours.
Of course, if you create your own images from the ground up, you will have no legal problems, but I would guess that most of us are only marginal artists and sometimes need a little help from the pros. There are a number of sources from which we can draw inspiration as well as actual images to manipulate. Listed below are just a sample of what is out there.
The web is teeming with illustrations, graphics, and art. Web pages without at least a couple of graphics are few and far between.
All of these images are available to be downloaded from their residence on some far away server right to your hard drive, but, like I said earlier, there are legal restrictions. Just because you can download and manipulate an image, it doesn't mean that you should. Think before you download.
Web images might look crisp and clear on your monitor screen, but they actually are at a low resolution (72 DPI). The reason for this is that computers cannot display a higher resolution. Most monitors display something around 72 DPI, so anything higher wouldn't look any better and would take much longer to download because the higher the resolution, the higher the file size. Their low resolution makes web images poor choices for reproduction in print, but a great source of experimental images, and they are usually small so your machine won't get bogged down as you play with them.
NOTE: As a taxpayer of the United States of America, you are entitled to vast archives of information and images from our National Government. Visit the NASA web site (http://images.jsc.nasa.gov) or try the Library of Congress (http://lcweb.loc.gov).
When you have found an image that you would like to download and use for experimentation (never to be seen by any other eyes than your own, right?), click on the image and hold. Most web browsers will display a menu of choices. Choose to save the image. When it is finished downloading, open it up, and edit away. We will look more at creating web graphics on Day 14.
The only way to make a physical image, such as a photograph or a drawing on paper, a digital image is by scanning it. To put it very simply, scanners use light to look at an image. They then break this light down into discrete units, which is, after all, how a computer presents images--via light.
These devices range in price from inexpensive consumer-level scanners for photographs, to moderately priced flat-bed and slide scanners, to prohibitively expensive drum scanners.
If this is something you might be interested in purchasing, one thing you need to beware of is interpolation. Scanner resolution is measured in DPI (Dots Per Inch). Sometimes manufacturers will tout a scanner as having an interpolated resolution at 600 DPI. Although this is not necessarily bad, it does misrepresent the scanner's capabilities. Interpolation is a means by which the scanner guesses at pixel values in between pixels that were actually scanned. Therefore, interpolation means that the scans might be somewhat less crisp and less faithful to the original.
Scanners are a powerful tool for image acquisition. Try scanning different items for different effects. Try placing a physical object on the scanner (careful on the glass). Sometimes if you scan, say, a leaf or a wristwatch, you might get a texture or a special highlight that is perfect for a background or to add realism to a scene. You can also try scanning with different backdrops behind the object in the focus of the scan.
Remember, although Photoshop gives you extensive control over an image's appearance, if you start with a bad scan, you will most likely end up with a bad image. Try to get the best scan possible (this may mean curling up with the scanner manual and a cup of cocoa).
If you do end up with a less than perfect scan, which is easy to do, try using Photoshop's Sharpen filters. These will bring a crispness back into the image. They do have their drawbacks, however, so don't rely on them to fix a terribly blurry image. Photoshop can only work with what's there. It can invent a few pixels here there as a fix, but it can't create a perfect reproduction of a Porsche 944 from an image scanned out of a newspaper.
Still relatively new to the market, digital cameras offer fast ways to acquire digital images, and they are reasonably priced.
Digital cameras capture images digitally, so there is no time wasted in translating an image from the physical into digital. All you have to do is click the picture, which is then stored in the camera's memory, and then download it to your computer. From here, all you have to do is open it in Photoshop and go to work.
This is an especially good solution for web-based publishing for two reasons. One is that it is fast. Images can be web-ready in moments after the download. The second reason is that the image resolution of digital cameras (at least at the consumer level) leaves a bit to be desired. Since the web only requires images to be at 72 DPI, this makes digital cameras a natural choice for working in web publishing.
Most photographers suggest for the best quality taking traditional photos and having them professionally scanned. Another method is to use stock photography and/or photo CDs.
NOTE: If you want a killer, absolutely wonderful, informative and extremely well-written book on digital photography, check Hayden's Teach Yourself Digital Photography in 14 Days by Carla Rose (one of the authors of the very book you hold in your hand).
If you don't own a scanner or a digital camera, there is yet another option for you. Numerous stock photography houses have blossomed onto the web. Usually, you can browse their sites for previews and then buy direct. Sometimes they will even provide free comp images (images used by designers to mock-up designs for books, ads, and so on).
For some examples, point your browsers to these web sites:
If you want to use your own images, there are plenty of businesses that can scan your images for you. Check your yellow pages or try using one of the web search engines, such as Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com). A number of companies out there are vying for this sort of business, so you will have your pick.
For Macintosh Users Only: If you are having trouble with Photoshop--the program can't open files or it refuses to open--you can drag your Photoshop Preferences file (which is found in the general Preferences file within your System folder) to the Trash.
After you have done this, try opening the Photoshop application again. As it opens, it will create a new, albeit default, Preferences file. You will then have to reset your Preferences the way you like them, but this is a good way to get a fresh start, and can sometimes solve tricky, unexplainable problems.
If you get the warning, Primary Scratch Disk Full, your hard drive has run out of memory. The scratch disk uses a portion of your hard disk as virtual memory. That is to say, when you have an image that overflows your RAM, it flows onto your hard drive.
To solve this memory problem, you should either specify a new scratch disk (if you have another hard drive hooked up to your machine) via File+General Preferences+Plug-Ins & Scratch Disks or free up space on your hard drive by deleting unneeded files.
Your first day of Photoshop is done. I hope that you are intrigued by the possibilities of this astounding application. You have learned a little about how Photoshop works with images, how to open existing images and how to create new files for your own work.
We also discussed how you can configure your view of images, using the Window menu and the Zoom tools. These tools enable you to get the best view of an image, so that you can do your best work.
The Info palette and Navigator palette were discussed also. There are plenty more palettes to go. You will see a greater discussion of these on Day 3 when we examine the painting tools.
In concluding the chapter, we took a brief look at ways you can acquire images. The web is a storehouse of images. Visit some of the stock photography web sites for samples. Try using a search engine, such as Yahoo!, to search for other stock photography houses. And don't forget to visit Uncle Sam. You can get a lot of good low resolution images from the United States government. Just remember to always check for permissions before you ever use an image. Someone somewhere probably owns it, and if they find out that you used it without permission...
This is a good start, but there is still a ways to go. Photoshop is incredibly fun. This book is set up to be read linearly. That is, from page 1 to the very last, but I would be a liar if I said that was the way you had to read it. Get the most out of it as you can. If you are already familiar with the topic of a certain chapter, skip it. Learn however you want to and experiment.
Tomorrow you will begin working with selections. Selections are central to using Photoshop effectively. They enable you to edit and manipulate portions of images and are a fundamental part of building your Photoshop knowledge. See you tomorrow.
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