Photoshop Basics
Photoshop Basics
You can pickup a tool in the toolbox simply by clicking on it. If you let your cursor sit
over the tool without clicking on it, the name of that tool will appear on screen. It will
look something like this:
The letter inside the brackets is the keyboard shortcut for that tool. You will find a
complete list of these shortcuts at the end of this tutorial.
Tools with little black arrows in the corner have hidden tools underneath. Whenever you
select any tool from the toolbox, a series of options will appear at the top of the screen
in the Options Bar. Here is an example of what part of the option bar looks like when
you click on one of the selection tools:
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 2
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 3
Elliptical Marquee Tool M Allows you to make elliptical selections of the image.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 4
Slice Select Tool K This tool allows you to move and resize slices.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 5
Using this tool, you can blur part of the image, strength
Blur Tool R
of the blurring can be adjusted in the Options Bar.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 6
Creates vertical type, you can adjust the size and font
Vertical Type Tool T
in the Options Bar.
Delete Anchor Point Tool Allows you to change paths by deleting anchor points.
Convert Point Tool Another tool for manipulating anchor points of a path.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 7
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 8
Selecting the Preset Sizes submenu allows you to choose from a range of preset
document sizes, such as A4, 640x480, Standard PAL. There is an exhaustive list of
options. If you’re working in video or print, two mediums which require very specific
page and screen sizes, this drop down menu quickly becomes a necessity.
You can also manually input the desired size of your image. If you click the drop down
menu to the right of the height and width fields, you’ll find different forms of
measurement – pixels, inches, centimetres, millimetres, points, picas and columns.
The resolution of your document depends on what the image is intended for. If it’s for
the web, set the resolution to 72 pixels/inch. If you’re creating a print layout, the
minimum resolution should be 300 pixels/inch. The higher the resolution, the slower
your computer will perform.
You can select a range of colour modes, including Bitmap (black and white), Greyscale
(shades of grey), RGB Color (colours are created using a combination of red, green and
blue – best for onscreen work such as images intended for webpages), CYMK (colours
are created using a combination of Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and black – this is best for
work that is going to be printed, such as posters and magazines) and Lab Color.
When you launch Photoshop with an image in the clipboard, Photoshop will automatically
set the width and height of the new image to the dimensions of that picture (so, if your
image is 50 pixels wide and 70 pixels high, Photoshop automatically puts these figures
into the width and height fields.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 9
In this example, there are three layers. A thumbnail image of each layer is shown in the
Layers Palette. Simply by dragging layers, you can rearrange their order.
Here, the opacity of the top layer has been reduced to 50%. Experimenting with layers
and their opacity can produce complex and sophisticated images.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 10
When you’re working with multiple layers, you can manipulate the way a layer is blended
with the layer beneath it. Here are examples of the layer blending modes available in
Photoshop.
Dissolve
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 11
Darken
Multiply
Color Burn
Linear Burn
Lighten
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 12
Screen
Color Dodge
Linear Dodge
Overlay
Soft Light
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 13
Hard Light
Vivid Light
Linear Light
Pin Light
Difference
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 14
Exclusion
Hue
Saturation
Color
Luminosity
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 15
Because selection is so important when you start creating sophisticated images, Adobe
Photoshop has an entire menu dedicated to the ways in which you can select parts of the
image. Here’s a quick summary of the feature you’ll find in this menu:
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 16
Colour Range… Allows you to select a particular colour. When you select
this item, you will be presented with a dialogue box. You
can toggle between a black and white picture of the
Selection and the Image itself. When you click on the
‘Image’ button, you can choose the colour that you want
to select using the eye dropper. The selected colour range
will be displayed in the dialogue box.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 17
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 18
Pressing delete…
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 19
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 20
If you look closely, you will notice that the selected area
has decreased by 10 pixels all the way around the
perimeter.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 21
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 22
Save Selection If you find yourself frequently selecting the same area or a
similar shape, you area able to save these selections for
later use. Saved selections can be reused by going to
Selection>Load Selection.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 23
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 24
Copy Merged Copies all of the visible layers into one image.
Find and Replace Allows you to find and replace text, much like the
Text… type of feature you find in a word processor.
Fill… Fills the selected area. You can choose from the
foreground colour, background colour, pattern, 50%
grey, black and white.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 25
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 26
Skew
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 27
Perspective
Flip Horizontal
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 28
Flip Vertical
Define Brush… Makes the selected area into a brush that can be
used when using the Brush Tool, Eraser and other
tools that rely on different shaped brushes.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 29
Canvas Size… Allows you to change the size of the canvas, the image will
not change, only the size of your workspace (unless, of
course, you make your workspace smaller than the
picture, in which case the original image will be cropped).
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 30
Rotate Canvas> This allows you to rotate your entire document 180º, 90º
CW, 90º CCW, as well as by other values. It also enables
you to flip the entire document vertically and horizontally.
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 31
Artistic>Colored
Pencil
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 32
Artistic>Cutout
Artistic>Dry Brush…
Artistic>Film Grain
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 33
Artistic>Fresco
Artistic>Neon Glow
Artistic>Paint Daubs
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 34
Artistic>Palette Knife
Artistic>Plastic Wrap
Artistic>Poster Edges
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 35
Artistic>Rough Pastels
Artistic>Smudge Stick
Artistic>Sponge
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 36
Artistic>Underpainting
Artistic>Watercolor
Blur>Gaussian Blur
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 37
Blur>Motion Blur
Blur>Radial Blur
Blur>Smart Blur
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 38
Brush Strokes>
Accented Edges
Brush Strokes>
Angled Strokes
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 39
Brush Strokes>
Ink Outlines
Brush Strokes>
Spatter
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 40
Brush Strokes>
Sprayed Strokes
Brush Strokes>
Sumi-e
Distort>
Diffuse Glow
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 41
Distort>Glass
Distort>
Ocean Ripple
Distort>Pinch
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 42
Distort>
Polar Coordinates
Distort>Ripple
Distort>Shear
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 43
Distort>Sphereize
Distort>Twirl
Distort> Wave
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 44
Noise>Add Noise
Noise>
Dust and Scratches
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 45
Noise>Median
Pixelate>
Color Halftone
Pixelate>
Crystallize
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 46
Pixelate>Fragment
Pixelate>Mezzotint
Pixelate>Mosaic
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 47
Pixelate>Pointillize
Render>Clouds
Render>
Difference Cloud
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 48
Render>
Lens Flare
Sharpen>
Sharpen More
Sketch>
Bas Relief
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 49
Sketch>Charcoal
Sketch>Chrome
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 50
Sketch>
Conte Crayon
Sketch>
Graphic Pen
Sketch>
Halftone Pattern
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 51
Sketch>
Notepaper
Sketch> Photocopy
Sketch>Plaster
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 52
Sketch>Reticulation
Sketch>Stamp
Sketch>Torn Edges
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 53
Sketch>
Water Paper
Stulize>Diffuse
Stylize>Emboss
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 54
Sylize>Extrude
Stylize>Find Edges
Stylize>
Glowing Edges
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 55
Stylize>Solarize
Stylize>Tiles
Stylize>
Trace Contour
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 56
Stylize>Wind
Texture>Craquelure
Texture>Grain
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 57
Texture>
Mosaic Tiles
Texture>Patchwork
Texture>Stained Class
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 58
Texture>Texturizer
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004
Photoshop: The Basics 59
www.ibrett.com
© Brett Lamb 2004