Production Journal

Photoshop
In today's lesson Jo taught me the basics of Photoshop. This included a quick tutorial and tour of the navigation bar, the appropriate size of page and also what to save it as. Also Jo set us a set of tasks which we needed to complete.

Initially, I loaded Adobe Photoshop CC 2014. I then went to file and new, bringing up a new windows. This 2nd image then appeared, where it says 'present' I then clicked on it and it came up with a several options. I then clicked "international paper" which is the best option when creating generic projects, also with what I am going to do today this page preference is the most effective. By choosing the international paper it can automatically set the page size to A4, A6, A5 and A3. Today I learnt that an A4 page width is 210mm and 297mm in height, and A3 is 420 mm wide and also 297 in height. Memorising, these digits will be important in the future when I need to alternate between different sizes in other programmes. After this I learnt about the importance of resolution and the ideal settings for individual things. For instance,72 pixels/inch is suitable for just the screen, the quality is good but not exceptional. However, if you're wanting a super high quality piece of printed work then 300 pixels/inch is more suitable because there are more DPIs. The more DPIs mean more pixels per inch, resulting in more detail. During this project we will be using two main colour formats RGB and CMYK. RGB stands for red, green and blue and CMYK means cyan, magenta, yellow and key. However, the colour mode I will be using is CMYK due to the fact that it is more suitable for magazines and posters because of the brilliant vibrancy of colours.

1st Tutorial

Marquee Tool

The first thing I did was explore the marquee tool. The marquee tool is on the left hand side navigation bar, to reveal all the tools: Rectangular, Elliptical, Single row and single column, you have to keep hold of the land hand side click of the mouse in order to expand it. The marquee tool is used to draw a selection of shapes, ovals, rectangles and squares and manipulate them. To draw a rectangular marquee you choose it, draw a box on the document, hold down the shift key inside the box (you hold the shift key so it stays in that particular shape and does not become distorted), drag the cursor outside the box and release when ready. After doing this I added the colour pink with the paint bucket located on the left hand side navigation bar.







Smooth Edge Effect

The next thing I did was try out the 'smooth edges effect'. To do this you use a rectangular marquee tool, as you normally would. You then go to 'select' > 'modify' > 'smooth' and then alter the 'sample radius' from 1-16 depending on how rounded you want the edges. Bearing in mind that the higher the number the rounder the edges will be.


The smooth edge effect transforms sharp corners and edges into smooth and less rigid shapes. After spending a significant amount of time this is what my page looked like after playing with all the marquee tools and then modifying them by controlling the smoothness. I have used an arrangement of colour to show the significance and individuality of each shape. Furthermore, I used an assortment of sample radius to give me a variation of shapes and diversity.


Create my own brush

The next thing I did was create my own brush on Photoshop. There is a generic variation of shapes of brushes on Photoshop however I found that they are not very specific and original. Therefore, I googled for some ideas and came across this understated yet pretty purple heart. I copied it and then pressed 'ctrl v' so it pasted it directly into Photoshop. Then I went to 'edit > 'define brush settings' > then 'rename' - I renamed it to love heart. After that I went to my most recent brush, which was at the bottom, clicked on it and then I changed it to any colour from the colour wheel, I chose grey as it represents modernism and sophistication.

History brush tool

The next task we had to complete was to master using the 'history brush tool'. The tool is on the left hand side navigation bar yet until today I was blatantly unaware of its existence. What you can do with this tool is change the colour mode of your picture to 'greyscale' and then decide where you want colour to be seen/or not to be. This technique is very clever as you can control what you want the audience to focus on and what you want to be left in the background. So the first thing I did was create a new page with the 'international paper' sizing setting. Next I copied this image of Winnie Harlow from google and 'ctrl v' into Photoshop. I chose this picture because I find her variation of skin tones and rouge lips very interesting and domineering, therefore I decided to play around with the image and visualise the effect of it. I continued to select the image > clicked mode (at the top) > grayscale > click 'DON'T FLATTEN'. This then makes all of the image grayscale/black and white. Then I once again selected the image > mode > RGB > 'DONT FLATTEN' - the image then remains grey scale. I then clicked on the history tool in the toolbox and decided what size brush would best suit this image. However, due to her proportions I had to change my brush size 3 times to fit the outlines. You can change the size of the brush by clicking shift and either '[' or ']' to make it bigger or smaller OR you can move the bar up or down at the top left hand side of the page. I used '[' or '] the majority of the time because I find it somewhat easier to control. I chose her lips to re apply colour to as deep red suggests power and confidence. And I chose one of her arms because it shows that she is scientifically 'different' yet she is stunning, successful and powerful young woman despite the odds.

Guides

The next thing I did was set up some guides in Photoshop in order for all my work to be align thus looking neat. The first thing I did was make sure that my horizontal and vertical ruler is visible. Then I clicked the horizontal one and dragged it down to create a new horizontal line. Similarly I clicked the vertical ruler and dragged it to the right to create a new vertical guide. I then clicked the move tool, on the top of the left side bar, to complete it.  

Custom Shape Tool

After this I learnt how to use the custom shape tool and all the functions it has. The function is has is to be able to insert unique and interesting shapes in which are different to the stereotypical squares or circles. The custom shape tool is a great way to show off your creativity and open mind, which would all look great in my creative CV. To do this you go to the navigation bar and click the symbol with the title - 'custom shape tool'. A small variety of shapes then appear however if you are after more, they do provide a 'see all' tab in which you are gifted with hundreds to select from. When you have decided you simply click it in and it copies it onto the page. You then press 'ctrl and T' and then 'shift' in order to resize it. When you are happy with that you can use the 'colour fill tool', select a colour and then click the item in which you want a product. As you can see I choose a mixture of CMYK and RGB colours for no reason other than curiosity.

Warp

Another technique I have learnt today is how to warp images on Adobe Photoshop. The first thing I did was use the marquee tool to draw a basic rectangle across the top of the page. I did this because I had an idea of potentially using it in my creative CV or posters in which I placed some text over the top for a title. Either way I used the rectangle because it is a basic yet easily manipulated shape. From then I added a gradient of the colour purple, it morphs from a pretty lilac into a domineering dark purple - representing courage and improvement. I used a monochromatic colour scheme because I believe that it indicates an organised and confident style. To make a shapes colour gradient you simply click the 'gradient' tool on the left hand side tool bar, then you select where you want the darkness and lightness to appear by dragging the arrow from which ever side you wish them to appear. To warp the I mage you simply right click it, a box appears and you select 'warp', from this a grid appears over the object. Here I learnt that if you eg: drag the middle bottom circle the object will follow it  stretching it out, or dragging it up it will push the image up, creating a slimmer middle. I decided on pushing both the top and bottom outlines in to create a slim and sleek central area. This technique is very effective as you can make any image cooperate with you and provide you with what you want as you can force it to.

Opacity

After doing this I decided that the shape needed more depth and work on it. So I discovered the opacity level feature in Adobe Photoshop, allowing you to adjust the opacity layer. It is measured on a scale of 0 -100, 0 being transparent and 100 being totally solid and opaque. To do this I selected my object, then went towards the layer box, clicked the right hand side of the numbers to bring up a scale. I then clicked the small arrow on the slider, dragging from right to left until satisfied with the chosen opacity. I ended up deciding on 40% opacity due to it looking sophisticatedly faded yet also strong.

Stroke

A stroke is when you put a border around an image or background, any thickness, any colour. By using a stroke it can tie a whole piece of work together and make it look more finished. I practiced using a stroke on both an image and a background. To do it you either click on the layer you wish to apply it to or you double click on the thumbnail of the image - both on the bottom right hand side of the screen. Then you right click, select 'stroke' and then a set of options comes up which allows you to control the intensity you wish to have it. You can manipulate the width, colour, opacity and mode.


Blur

In adobe Photoshop there are a variation of settings in which you can alter an image easily. I decided to explore the blur effect and see how I could use it. To begin this I googled New York City, as soon I am going there and I find it a place beautifully photographed. I inserted a very hectic image into Photoshop, and I wanted just the bright yellow cabs in focus, everything else blurred so I began my mission to do this. I selected 'filter' on the top navigation panel and then scrolled down to blur gallery. I then selected 'Iris Blur' which is an eye shaped blur tool, which is great if you are wanting a curvature to your blur. I then continued to drag this down, making it bigger by pushing the arrows out, and I increased the intensity to make it more noticeable. It ending up sitting perfectly on the yellow cars, whilst also vastly blurring the background.

After this I decided to use the blur tool again on another image. This time I used the 'title shift' blur option in which you can still blur images but the shape you do it with is a rectangle. Below you can see that I used a picturesque mountain and lake as my image. I decided on blurring the top and bottom and with this tool I was capable of doing so.

Filters

Filters can be very easily added to an image in photoshop.
First off I selected a background for my page, I then inserted a stunning picture of Beyoncé in which I hoped to be able to edit successfully. You can add filters to images by clicking 'filter', 'filter gallery' and then a box comes up with ten's of filters readily available to chose from. For this certain image I selected 'Stain Glass' on a low cell size and intensity. Overall, this was very effective as it did look edited yet it did not look overdone or too dramatic.






Type Mask

I also learnt how to use the horizontal/vertical type mask tool. First off I inserted an image of a purple and blue star filled sky. I then used the vertical type mask tool, selected a cool font and began to write adventure. I used the marquee tool to use it rather than the move tool because if I had of done that then the image would have a missing gap there - and that is not what I want. I used the marquee tool to guarantee me that the typeface will have a mixture of colours in it. After being happy with the positon I then, went to 'FX' and chose the shadowing and visual effect options. Once done, I copied and pasted my work onto a new layer. The result is a the lettering with the image inside it. This method look excellent plus it is a skill highly appreciated therefore I am really considering involving this in my creative CV.