Review: why do we use selections?
Keyboard short cut: control+D is to deselect.
The selection tools are found at the top of the tool bar.
The move tool is on the top right. Use this to move objects
in your image.
Remember to click and hold down on the tool to be able to access the other selection tools.
The first set of selection tools work by clicking and dragging.
If you hold down the shift key while you are using the rectangular marquee tool-it becomes a square
If you hold down the shift key while you are using the Elliptical marquee tool-it becomes a circle.
The Lasso tool allows you to make a free form selection, much like writing with a pen. You draw around the object you want to select bring the mouse back to the beginning point to finish the selection.
The Polygonal Lasso tool allows you to make a free form shape but it limits you to drawing straight lines. You use this by making multiple clicks around the object and closing the selection by bringing the end to meet up with the beginning point.
The Magnetic Lasso tool works by trying to make the selection for you. Photoshop will try to define the edge of an object and make the selection. This works particularly well if the object you want to select is very different from the background in color or contrast.
To use this tool you can either drag along the edge of the object or make multiple clicks. Close the selection by bringing the end up to the beginning.
The Magic Wand tool is completely different from the other selection tools.
You must use it with the tolerance field in the options bar.
The magic wand works by selecting all of the pixels that are similar in tone to an area you click. So if for ex. I click into a sky that is all blue with white clouds, the magic wand tool will select all the blue but not the white clouds. To adjust how much of an area is selected, adjust the tolerance level in the Options bar.
If too much area is being selected, lower the tolerance.
Too little of the area is being selected, put in a higher tolerance number.
Copying and pasting your selections.
After you made a selection
Copy..... Keyboard shortcut is: control + C, or Edit > Copy
Paste..... Keyboard shortcut is: control + V, or Edit >Paste
This will automatically paste your selection into a new layer.
Remember the advantage to having layers is so you don’t damage your document underneath. You can manipulate the image on one layer without it affecting the images on other layers.
Copy and paste in 1 step: control+J
When you copy and paste within the same image, the pasted selection will go directly on top of the original selection, SO...you need to move your selection to be able to see it.
Use the move tool (top right of the tool bar) and click into the area of your copied image and drag.
Move Tool
IMPORTANT
There is an option in the options bar to auto select the layer you are on with the move tool.
Most of the time you will want to have this option checked. When you start to have a lot of layers it allows you to click on the object in the image window and have it select the layer.
If you do not have this option on, you have to first select the layer that has your object you want to move than drag the object with the move tool.
This option allows you to move objects without having to find their corresponding layer.
You can also paste between images.
Make your selection in the 1st image
Copy it
Go to the 2nd image
click in it so it is selected!!!!!!!!!
Paste
Layers
The layers palette is probably the palette you will use the most.
Photoshop automatically labels each layer by Layer 1, 2, 3.
Rename by clicking 2 times on the default layer name. This will make the default layer name editable.
There is also a thumbnail of the layer next to the layer name.
If you have text on your layer, there is the big T with a line of the text in the title section of the palette instead of a layer #.
The Eyeball on the left side indicates if the layer is visible in your document. Sometimes you need to turn a layer off, click on the eye to make it go away. Click on the empty eye space to make it visible again.
Layer Opacity lets you adjust the transparency level of the layer. This can be a very useful blending technique. Go to the Opacity field at the top of the Layers Palette, click on the arrow part of the field to open the slider, and move the slider to the desired opacity level.
From the main menu
New Layer------Layer > New
Copy a layer-----Layer >Duplicate layer
Delete layer------Layer > Delete > Layer
Layer Order and how it affects your image.
Photoshop displays your image as a composite of your layers starting from the top down.
What does this mean?
Well if you want it to look like a person is standing partially behind a building:
Have the building and person on separate layers, make sure the layer of the building is on top of the layer of the person in the layers palette.
Also, if you have a large object on a layer and it is on a top layer, it will cover up the smaller objects underneath.
How do you change layer order?
Easy. Grab the layer with your mouse (see how it becomes a hand) and click and drag it up or down, let go.
Practice: At this point you should be able to make a selection from you image, copy and paste it (it will paste into a new layer automatically), move your image around, duplicate the layer, turn off the visibility of the layer and change your layer order.
Transforming images on the layer
So far, we have learned how to rotate the canvas (the entire image) now we are going to learn how to rotate a single part of the image.
1stthe part of the image you want to rotate, must be on its own layer!!
Review- to put part of an image onto a separate layer
- Select it (with a selection tool), copy it (control + C), paste it (control + V). Now it is on its own layer.
- Now we want to Transform it (in Photoshop, transform means- rotate, distort, stretch, make bigger, smaller, (this is called scale) warp.....
- With the correct layer selected in the Layers Palette...(That means the layer that has the image you want to transform is highlighted blue in the layers palette).
- Go to the Main Menu in Photoshop and select Edit > Transform> pick any of the transformations
- ToScale an image means to make it bigger or smaller
When you SCALE an image, making it smaller or bigger, it will not automatically keep the proportions of your image!!!!!!!!!!
- This means if you are not careful, you can stretch your image without meaning to.
- How to avoid this?
- Hold the shift key down as you are scaling the image and the proportions will be locked.
Adjustments: From the main menu in Photoshop:
Image > Adjustments