Lesson ONE:Image formats, Layers, short-cuts (fill, copy,cut, paste), selection tools(marquees, lasso), stamp tool, eraser, smudge tool

Ok don't worry - the list is long but that does not mean that we have to do all the above in two hours. We will do as much as possible though. We might end up doing more than what's on the list - depending on how fast you learn.

Follow this presentation about Image formats (or graphics):

graphics and image formats

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Images which you will be using for this lesson:

 

 

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The Marquee tools:

 You have an option to choose from 4 selection marquees as shown above. To select an area, after choosing the right marquee, you only need to click and drag your mouse. The selected area will be surrounded by a dotted line. When you are drawing a marquee you are not drawing a shape but just a selection. Shapes are something else. You use a marquee in order to either copy or cut an area - or to fill an area with colour.

Example of a selection

Note: To access all the three selection tools click on the small arrow at the bottom right corner of the tool that is showing. 

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 Layers:

Essentially, Photoshop allows you to create multiple layers in one image, on top of each other. This is a very helpful feature, because you can edit one layer without changing the other layers.

Still confused? Try this: Picture yourself drawing a cartoon character. First, you start with a rough sketch. You might put this as the first layer. Then, you would use a darker ink tool for a more final version of the character (line art). This would be on a layer on top of the previous one. You could even turn down the opacity on the original, sketch-layer so that it is easier to draw over. Finally, once you have a finished line art image of your wacky cartoon character, you will want to add color to it. I like to imagine layers as transparent plastic sheets!

Layers therefore are a great tool as you can make changes or add things to an image while you can still manipulate such changes as needed! At the end you can then merge the layers.

If you do not find the layers pane on the right-hand side of your Photoshop screen, click on Window (top menu bar) and then Layers from the list.

To add a new layer click on the New Layer button as shown in the picture below:

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The Losso tools:

The Losso tool lets you select irregularly shaped areas.

• The first tool from the three, simply, Lasso Tool, is the more difficult to use since you need a very steady hand to go round an image while holding down the left mouse button.
• The Magenetic Lasso Tool (third one) is a much easier tool to use as it tries to move along and follow the outline of the shape. You don't need to keep holding down the left mouse button for it to function. It also allows you to left-click so that you make sure that it goes to the exact place where you want it. It is not totally reliable but much more easier to use than the Lasso Tool.
• The Polygonal Lasso Tool only follows straight lines - therefore not suitable to go around images containing curves. It has its use though and it will come in handy later on.

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The Clone Stamp Tool:

This is a really cool tool which we will find really handy when fixing blemishes in old photographs or when removing unwanted artifacts in newly taken photographs. The beauty of this tool lies in the fact that it reproduces texture!

It is not as straightforward to use but not difficult neither. You need to first hold down the ALT button on your keyboard while you left-click on an area which you want to reproduce (having the right colour and texture). Then by simply holding down the left button, draw on the area you want to fix or remove.

You might wish to zoom in your picture before using the Clone Stamp Tool and adjust the brush width as well. This video explains all.

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The Smudge Tool:

This tool comes in handy when we need to tidy up our work. Sometimes the end result is a bit too sharp so we would need to smudge edges for example so that they look more natural. Using this tool is very easy - simply select it from the tool bar on the left, and then drag your mouse over the area where you need to be smudged while holding down the left mouse button.

When clicking on the bottom corner arrow of the tool, you will get two more tools, the Blur tool and the Sharpen tool.

You might not see the Smudge tool at first in its place - this is because someone before you might have used the Blur or Sharpen tools and therefore these will be visible. If this is the case, only need to click on the bottom right arrow and choose the Smudge tool yourself.

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The Eraser Tool:

You get three types of erasors in Photoshop. The most used will be the Eraser Tool and the Magic Eraser Tool.

The Eraser Tool is simply an eraser - you will cancel what you draw with it.

The Magic Eraser removes a selected colour from the image and gives you a transparent background instead. You might need to adjust the Tolerance (from the top menu) to get the desired result.

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Common Shortcuts:

Ctrl+c To copy
Ctrl+v To paste
Ctrl+x To cut
Ctrl+z To undo
Ctrl-d   To Deselect (after having used any marquee tool or lasso tools)
Alt+Backspace button  To fill with foreground colour
Ctrl+Backspace button  To fill with background colour
Ctrl+ +  To zoom in
Ctrl+ -   To zoom out

ACTIVITIES: Save the pictures in the section Images which you will be using for this lesson.

1. Now, for the first picture, the one with the two monkeys, you have to fix all blemishes so that the picture looks as perfect as possible.

2. Select the monkey which has crossed arms, and place it on the table image, making it look as if it is sitting at the table waiting for food.