1 day class

Course Description

In this course, you'll learn skills to enhance your ability to create accurate masks, image effects, and retouch images. You'll further your understanding of isolating image areas by creating and saving masks with specialized tools, commands, modes, and layer elements. You'll learn how to use vector paths for a variety of purposes, including masking, clipping paths, and illustration. You'll also create and apply creative elements such as gradients, patterns, and color overlays, and will generate special effects ranging from distorted type to simulating natural media paint realistically. When you've completed the course, you'll have a firm grasp on Photoshop concepts that are applicable to almost every facet of using the application, including Web design, preparing photographic images for printing, and illustration.

Prerequisites:  To ensure your success, we recommend you first take the following  course or have equivalent knowledge:

• Photoshop® CS: Basic Image Enhancement (Level 1 - Windows)

Performance-Based Objectives

• Use the Background Eraser, Quick Mask mode, alpha channels, and layer masks to isolate image areas quickly and accurately, even for images with indistinct edges and very fine details.
• Create clipping masks to use one layer's contents to mask another's; and create vector paths as tools for selecting images, for creating transparent areas in images to be used with other applications, and for drawing shapes.
• Create color swatches, gradients, and patterns.
• Distort type by warping it, wrapping it on a path, and transforming it; create layer comps to quickly compare multiple versions of a document; retouch and restore old damaged photographs; and simulate natural media painted effects.
• Automate multi-step processes with actions and batch processing.

Course Content

Lesson 1: Masking and Clipping Layers

• Topic 1A: Erase a Background from Behind Complex Foreground Detail
• Topic 1B: Edit a Selection by Painting a Quick Mask Overlay
• Topic 1C: Save and Edit a Selection in an Alpha Channel
• Topic 1D: Create, View, and Edit a Layer Mask
• Topic 1E: Make Areas Within a Layer Semi-Transparent
• Topic 1F: Clip a Layer to the Shape of Another

Lesson 2: Masking with Vector Paths

• Topic 2A: Create Vector Paths
• Topic 2B: Edit Paths
• Topic 2C: Mask an Image with a Path

Lesson 3: Filling Image Areas

• Topic 3A: Fill Image Areas with Swatch Colors
• Topic 3B: Create Gradients
• Topic 3C: Create Patterns

Lesson 4: Creating Special Effects

• Topic 4A: Distort Editable Type
• Topic 4B: Create Layer Comps
• Topic 4C: Control Cropping Precisely
• Topic 4D: Restore Photographs
• Topic 4E: Simulate Painted Effects

Lesson 5: Actions

• Topic 5A: Create an Action
• Topic 5B: Manage Actions