Purpose
This assignment is designed to flesh out concepts from the lecture, and to give you an opportunity to build a few Photoshop files that will focus on the topics from this week.
Directions
- Download the file archives linked above. Double-click on the file to decompress it.
- Inside the archive, you'll find a PDF file and separate folders for each project.
- Read through the handouts at the beginning of the PDF. They are designed to supplement the material in the lectures.
- There are three hands-on projects that are part of this assignment. You will find step-by-step instructions for building these files in the PDF document. Sample files showing you the completed project are also supplied in each project folder.
- One project in this assignment is a Challenge Project where I will give you only minimal instructions. This will be a great test of your mastery of the material from this section.
- When you have completed this assignment return to this week's Module and continue with the next lecture.
Turning in your Work
Follow these steps to upload your completed projects directly to Canvas:
- Place all the completed files into a single enclosing folder
- Name the folder LastNameFirstName_Photoshop2.1
Image Editing: Digital Color V I S U A L M E D I A D E S I G N 10 5 64 Visual Media Design 105 > Digital Skills for Visual Media COLOR MODES: RGB & CMYK Color can be a complex issue for computer users. There are many variables and very few settings that can be considered universal. Because of this, it is important to develop an understanding of different color modes. Photoshop has four primary color modes that you should be aware of. Bitmap: Each pixel can have only 1 of 2 possible states: pure black or pure white. Lineart [simple logos, type] is sometimes scanned into this color space. Grayscale: Each pixel can have one of 255 possible tonal values ranging from white to gray to black. The grayscale color space is used for simple 1 and 2 color offset print projects. RGB: This is the color space of digital devices. Image assets for interactive media must be converted to RGB. Each pixel in an RGB file is assigned a shade of Red, Green or Blue light. For each color, there are 255 possible values. RGB is additive color—colors are defined by varying amounts of red, green, and blue light—100% of each of the three colors produce white. An easy way to remember that RGB is additive color is to remember that by adding more color the result is closer to white. Because RGB color is transmissive, black is the absence of light. CMYK is the color model of offset printing, and describes the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black ink that is used in traditional 4-color process printing. Each pixel in a CMYK file is assigned an intensity of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow or Black ink. CMYK is subtractive color—pigments absorb light waves of particular colors and reflect light waves of other colors. In other words, magenta ink absorbs (subtracts) all wavelengths of color except magenta, which is reflected towards the viewers eye. Subtractive color is reflective—black absorbs all wavelengths of light. The color wheel demonstrates the relationship between RGB and CMYK color. Notice that cyan is opposite red. This means the two colors are complements or opposites—pure cyan has absolutely no red in it. When cyan is displayed on your monitor you are viewing a color composed of 100% blue and green and no red. The same relationship exists between blue and yellow, and green and magenta. 65 Visual Media Design 105 > Digital Skills for Visual Media DEVICE DEPENDENCE The two color models most commonly used by screen and print designers are RGB and CMYK. Each of these color models are device depen dent: the same color description can vary from one device to another. For example, an image printed in CMYK on an offset press will look different from the same image output to a color laser printer. The same image, in RGB, will look different on a website. It is this device dependency that creates much of the frustration surrounding computer-generated color images. 66 Visual Media Design 105 > Digital Skills for Visual Media PROJECT: THE COMPLETE PRINT WORKFLOW Preparing assets for print or screen projects revolves around three core file properties: pixel count, color space and file type. The next two exercises put these three variables together and take you through the process of preparing assets for print and screen respectively. Files optimized for print require enough resolution to reproduce without looking pixelated. They must be in the CMYK color space, and should be saved in an uncompressed file format, usually TIF. Scenario: You found an image online that you want to use in a flyer for your work. The flyer will be printed commercially. Preparing this file will revisit each of these three core variables and optimize the image for print. GETTING STARTED £ To get started, find and open the file Hunter_Start.jpg. This file needs to be 7 inches wide at 300 PPI. You will also need to convert the color space to CMYK, and change the file type to TIFF. ASSESS THE IMAGE £ The document name in Photoshop shows you that both the color space and file type are NOT correct for print. £ To assess the file resolution, go to Image > Image Size. Change the units in this dialogue to inches. Interesting numbers: only 72 PPI, but the physical size is much bigger than you need. You can use Image Size to compress the pixels in this file into a smaller physical size, thereby increasing the resolution. RESIZE THE IMAGE £ Uncheck Resample Image and enter your target resolution, in this case 300ppi. £ Notice how the physical size of the file (width and height) changes dramatically when you do this, but that the file size and number of pixels stays the same. £ Save the file. Note: if the numbers revealed that the file was too small for your project, your best bet would be to try to get a bigger file from your client. Upsampling is usually a recipe for disaster [and yelling] 67 Visual Media Design 105 > Digital Skills for Visual Media RESAMPLE THE IMAGE The image width is still not right. You can use ImageSize to trim away the extra pixels. £ Jump back into Image > Image Size. £ Recheck Resample Image and enter your target width, in this case 7 inches. £ Save the file! The resolution and physical size is now perfect. CONVERT COLOR SPACE AND FILETYPE We need to do two more things to get the image ready for print. £ First, go to Image > Mode > CMYK Color to change the color mode of the file. Notice the subtle color shift that occurs when we switch color spaces. £ Finally, we need to save the file in an uncompressed format, in this case TIFF. Choose File > Save As and chose TIFF from the format popup menu in that dialog box. £ Save your file to the Desktop and name it like so: LastName_ Firstname_Print.tif. £ Accept the default choices in the TIFF Options dialog box that follows, although you should make sure that your document is being saved in Macintosh format. FINISH UP AND SUBMIT £ Submit the file to your instructor in the method that they prefer. This may be to the class server or to Canvas. Ask your instructor if you are unsure. 68 Visual Media Design 105 > Digital Skills for Visual Media PROJECT: THE COMPLETE SCREEN WORKFLOW This project will take you through the steps required to prepare a photographic image for a website or other screen design project. Scenario: You have a layered Photoshop file that you want to upload to Instagram. You will need to flatten the layers, resize the image, and change the file format to JPEG. Let's jump in! GETTING STARTED £ Navigate to the Exercise folder; find and open the file Screen. psd. £ Always begin projects like this by assessing what you have to work with, as we did in the previous exercise. In this case, consider what you have now, and what you need for the final file. FLATTEN AND DUPLICATE First, make a flat copy of the file in a way that will ensure that you retain the layered version of the document. £ Go to Image > Duplicate; check Duplicate Merged Layers to create a flat copy. £ Name your new file LastName_FirstName_Screen and click OK. You now have a flat copy of the original file. £ Now go to Layer > Flatten Image. In Photoshop, a file is only truly flat when it has only a locked Background layer. £ Jump back to the layered file and close it. ALWAYS keep your native psd files archived with a job: you never know when you might need the originals! RESIZE THE FILE Instagram posts require square 1080 x 1080 pixel images. We'll use Canvas Size to resize the file. £ Go to Image > Image Size to see what you're working with. Close but not perfect. £ Go to Image > Canvas Size. Change the units to pixels. £ Enter 1080 for both width and height. Configure the dialog to Anchor the bottom part of the file. You don't want to cut off the type! £ Click OK and move on. 69 Visual Media Design 105 > Digital Skills for Visual Media SAVE A JPEG Because your file contains photographic imagery, you want to use JPEG as the file format. £ Go to File > Save [Cmd-S] to save the document. Because you made a Duplicate earlier, you are saving this file for the first time. £ Make sure the Desktop is the save location. £ Choose JPEG as the format from the pop-up menu. £ Click Save JPEG OPTIONS Part of saving files for screen involves making decisions about how much to compress the file. The JPEG Options dialog gives you control over this. £ Under Format Options, choose "Baseline Optimized." This is almost always the best choice. £ When you set the Quality there is a tradeoff between compression and image quality. Try different settings and see what happens to the file size [in middle-right] £ In this case, I would go with 8-12, as the image quality is important and the file is big. For smaller, less important files, you could push this setting lower for more compression. £ Click OK. FINISH UP AND SUBMIT £ Submit the file to your instructor in the method that they prefer. This may be to the class server or to Canvas. Ask your instructor if you are unsure. 70 Visual Media Design 105 > Digital Skills for Visual Media CHALLENGE PROJECT: CREATIVE COLOR This exercise will explore a more creative way to think about and use color in Photoshop. In this project, you will colorize a black and white photograph using layers and special blending modes. The file you build here will be uniquely yours, and will put together much of what you've learned about Photoshop so far in this course. GETTING STARTED £ Find and open the folder Colorize in the exercises folder. This folder contains a few images that work well for a project like this. £ Choose the one you like best and open it in Photoshop. £ The file you just opened is a grayscale jpeg. First go to Image > Mode > RGB Color. This changes the color mode of the file so that you can colorize it. £ Now go to File > Save As. £ Save a PSD file to the Desktop as LastName-Firstname- Colorize.psd. Now you're ready for action. CREATE LAYERS This file will use layers, the Paintbrush and the layer blending modes to blend your colors with the detail in the original image. £ Spend a few moments planning out your approach to the file and then create a few layers for each color you plan to use. Part of the beauty of this file will be the way you build it: each color or object in the original image will require a different layer. £ Make at least five separate empty layers in your file £ Give each layer names to describe the item that they will colorize. Feel free to create more layers as you work through the project. £ Save your file. 71 Visual Media Design 105 > Digital Skills for Visual Media DIGITAL PAINTING Painting in Photoshop is just like painting with a real paintbrush. £ Equip the Brush tool from the Photoshop Tool Panel, and use the color picker to assign the foreground color you want to use. Be sure the right layer is targeted before you paint! £ Use the icons in the Options Bar to change your brush size and edge properties. £ Use the Color Panel to save colors for reuse in the project £ Use the Eraser to fix mistakes and clean up your lines. £ Save your file after each major move you make THE BLEND MODES Photoshop has an elaborate system for visually blending layers together called the Blending Modes. In this case, you will probably get the best results by changing the blending mode of each of your layers to Color. You can do this at any time during this project using the popup menu in the Layers Panel. MANAGE THOSE LAYERS Once you have a painting worth framing, take a few moments to manage the new layers you created. £ First, be sure each layer has a descriptive name. £ Then, select all the layers and type Cmd -