In this lesson, you have the opportunity to learn about some of the new features in Photoshop CS6 by putting together an exciting composition.
What you’ll learn in this lesson:
• What’s new with vector shape tools
• Where to locate fills and strokes
• How to use new brush tips
• How to save and apply type styles
Starting up
Before starting, make sure that your tools and panels are consistent by resetting your preferences. See “Resetting Adobe Photoshop CS6 preferences” in the Starting up section of this book.
Users of all levels can follow this step-by-step exercise of new features in Photoshop CS6. However, if you are a new user, we recommend that you start with Lesson 2, “Getting to Know the Workspace,” and return to this lesson when you have completed all the other lessons.
You will work with several files from the ps01lessons folder in this lesson. Make sure that you have loaded the pslessons folder onto your hard drive from www.digitalclassroombooks.com/epub/photoshopcs6. See “Loading lesson files” in the Starting up section of this book. Now, let’s take a look at some of the new features in Photoshop CS6.
Taking a look at the final project
In this lesson, you’ll create a photocomposition that will come from several sources, allowing you to use some of the new tools and features available in Adobe Photoshop CS6.
1 Choose File > Browse in Bridge. You will use Adobe Bridge to locate your images for this lesson. Adobe Bridge also helps you to search for, organize, and manage your documents. Refer to Lesson 3, “Taking Advantage of Adobe Bridge,” to find out more about Adobe Bridge.
2 In Bridge, choose Window > Workspace > Essentials to make sure that you are viewing the entire workspace.
If you are unfamiliar with Adobe Bridge, click the Folders tab in the upper-left corner of the workspace to navigate from one folder to another. If you saved your lesson files on the desktop, click Desktop; all the folders on your desktop appear in the Content panel.
3 Navigate to the ps01lessons folder and double-click to open the file called ps0101_done.psd. An image of a skier appears.
The completed lesson file.
In addition to some standard Photoshop features, some need-to-know new features have been integrated into this lesson. As you can see by investigating the Layers panel for this image, many of the new features in this lesson relate to new and exciting vector capabilities.
4 Now that you have seen the final image, choose File > Close. If a Warning dialog box appears, click No (Windows) or Don’t Save (Mac OS).
Experimenting with new Vector capabilities
In this part of the lesson, you will learn to append custom vector shapes, apply a pattern to them, and adjust the stroke and fill.
1 Choose File > Browse in Bridge. If you do not already have the contents of the ps01lessons folder open, click the Favorites tab in the upper-left of the Bridge workspace, and then choose Desktop. Locate the ps01lessons folder.
2 Open the ps01lessons folder and double-click to open the ps0101.psd file. An image of a skier appears.
3 Choose File > Save As to open the Save As dialog box. Using the Save In drop-down menu, navigate to the ps01lessons folder. Typeps0101_work in the File Name text field and choose Photoshop from the Format drop-down menu. Then click Save. If the Photoshop Format Options dialog box appears, click OK.
4 Select the Rectangle tool (
) located directly above the Hand tool in the Tools panel, and then click and drag to create a large rectangle that covers the right half of the image. When you release the mouse, notice that a Rectangle 1 vector layer has been added in the Layers panel.
) located directly above the Hand tool in the Tools panel, and then click and drag to create a large rectangle that covers the right half of the image. When you release the mouse, notice that a Rectangle 1 vector layer has been added in the Layers panel.
You will now fill this rectangle with a pattern by taking advantage of some of the new vector features that have been added to Photoshop CS6.
Click and drag to create a large rectangle across the right side of the image.
Filling a vector shape with a pattern
The vector tool capabilities that you can use in Photoshop CS6 have improved dramatically. In this section, you will learn how to fill a vector shape with a pattern.
1 With the Rectangle 1 vector layer still active, click Fill in the Options bar, and then click the Pattern button.
2 Select Grey Granite as the pattern. You can learn about saving your own patterns in Lesson 9, “Taking Layers to the Max.”
Select Pattern from the Fill menu. Select Grey Granite.
The shape is filled with the pattern.
If you do not see the options for the vector layer, you may have inadvertently selected another tool. The Vector options appear only when you have selected a vector shape tool, such as the Rectangle tool.
You will now create another shape and subtract it from the rectangle.
3 Click and hold the Rectangle tool, and then select the hidden Custom Shape tool (
). Your Options bar reflects the selection of this tool. You gain access to a few default shapes when you select the Custom Shape tool. You can also append additional custom shapes to add more to your collection as you will see in the following steps.
). Your Options bar reflects the selection of this tool. You gain access to a few default shapes when you select the Custom Shape tool. You can also append additional custom shapes to add more to your collection as you will see in the following steps.
Select the hidden Custom Shape tool.
4 Click the arrow in the Shape drop-down (on the right side of the Options bar) menu to see the default shapes.
5 Click the gear icon (
) in the upper-right of this menu and select the Nature category from the list of collections that appears.
) in the upper-right of this menu and select the Nature category from the list of collections that appears.
6 When the warning dialog box appears, choose Append. Appending keeps the default shapes and adds the Nature shapes to the bottom of the list. Additional shapes are now added to your list.
Select the nature collection of shapes, and then select Append.
7 Select the shape named Snowflake 1.
Select the Snowflake 1 shape.
8 Click Path operations (
), which is located in the Options bar, and select Subtract Front Shape. If Subtract Front Shape is not available, make sure that you still have the Rectangle 1 vector layer selected in the Layers panel.
), which is located in the Options bar, and select Subtract Front Shape. If Subtract Front Shape is not available, make sure that you still have the Rectangle 1 vector layer selected in the Layers panel.
9 Position your mouse approximately in the middle of the left side of the Rectangle shape, and press and hold the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac OS). Click and drag to create a large snowflake shape from the center. Continue dragging until the snowflake is almost as large as the square. The shape is subtracted from the Rectangle shape.
Create a large snowflake shape that subtracts from the Rectangle shape.
If you couldn’t create the large snowflake, press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Command+Z (Mac OS) to try again. You can use selection and transform tools to resize a vector shape, but it will be easier to practice creating the shape by starting over again.
10 Click the Path Selection tool (
) in the Tools panel, and notice that you can click and drag the snowflake and reposition it as an independent shape. Once you are finished experimenting with moving the snowflake, position it back in the center.
) in the Tools panel, and notice that you can click and drag the snowflake and reposition it as an independent shape. Once you are finished experimenting with moving the snowflake, position it back in the center.
If you do not like seeing the Path Selection tool, you can choose View > Show > Target Path to make it invisible. You can also toggle this view off and on by pressing Ctrl+Shift+H (Windows) or Command+Shift+H (Mac OS).
Adding a mask to a Vector layer
In this next part of the lesson, you will add a mask to the large snowflake vector layer. Adding a mask allows you to fade the shape into the rest of the ski image.
Make sure that Rectangle 1 is still the active layer in the Layers panel, and then select the Add layer mask button (
) at the bottom of the Layers panel. Visually, nothing happens to the image, but a mask appears to the right of the Vector layer thumbnail.
) at the bottom of the Layers panel. Visually, nothing happens to the image, but a mask appears to the right of the Vector layer thumbnail.
Select the Gradient tool (
) from the Tools panel and click and drag from the right side of the snowflake toward the center. A gradient appears, but only on the mask. Layer masks allow you to cover-up parts of your image and make them transparent. Notice that the snowflake does not appear where the gradient is black, and that it appears where the gradient is white. Using the gradient, you have faded the snowflake into transparency. If you are not satisfied with the gradient that you created, you can click and drag as many times as you want in different directions until you find one that you like.
) from the Tools panel and click and drag from the right side of the snowflake toward the center. A gradient appears, but only on the mask. Layer masks allow you to cover-up parts of your image and make them transparent. Notice that the snowflake does not appear where the gradient is black, and that it appears where the gradient is white. Using the gradient, you have faded the snowflake into transparency. If you are not satisfied with the gradient that you created, you can click and drag as many times as you want in different directions until you find one that you like.
Click and drag to create a gradient mask.
Using the new brush tips
The Erodible and Airbrush tips were added to Photoshop CS6. The Erodible tip allows you to scribble, draw, and wear out your brush tip much like a pencil or piece of chalk. The Airbrush tip offers extra controls and settings that allow the brush to act more like a real airbrush. In this example, you will use one of the new Airbrush tips to make snow blow off the skier. Airbrushing is a painting technique that uses a stream of air to apply the paint to a surface.
1 Select Background in the Layers panel, press and hold the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) key, and click the Create a new layer button at the bottom of the Layers panel. This opens the New Layer dialog box so that you can immediately name the layer.
2 Type Strokes in the Name text field, and then click OK.
3 Select the Brush tool (
), and then select Window > Brush; the Brush panel appears.
), and then select Window > Brush; the Brush panel appears.
4 Scroll down in the Brushes panel to select the Airbrush tip labeled 80. Once the brush is selected, you see that options specific to the selected brush tip appear at the bottom of the Brushes panel. You can experiment with the settings and see a preview of your brush stroke.
Hardness: Use it to set the Airbrush tip hardness.
Distortion: Use it to set the distortion of the airbrush.
Granularity: Use it to set the granularity (particles) of the brush tip.
Spatter Size: Use it to set the airbrush spatter size.
Spatter Amount: Use it to set the spatter amount.
Spacing: Use it to adjust the space between brush applications. Spacing set at 100% will give you even spaces between applications.
Select the 80 Airbrush tip and experiment with its settings.
5 Change settings and paint the image area. You can use any color. Experiment with different settings to see how the changes affect the brush stroke in the image area.
6 Once you are finished experimenting, choose Select > All, and then press the Delete key. You can repeat this step any time you want to paint again.
7 Reset your 80 Airbrush to the default settings by clicking the brush again in the Brush panel.
8 Enter these settings:
Hardness: 5%
Distortion: 0%
Granularity: 45%
Spatter Size: 15%
Spatter Amount: 50%
Spacing Amount: 25%
9 With the Brush tool still selected, change the following in the Options bar:
Change the Flow to 25%. Changing this setting lessens the flow of “paint” when painting.
Click the Enable airbrush-style build-up effects. If you hold the mouse button on one place, this feature spreads the paint much like an actual airbrush.
Set flow and build-up options in the Options bar.
10 If your Foreground color is not white, press the letter D to return to the Default colors of a Black Foreground and a White Background.
11 Press X to swap the Foreground and Background color so that White is forward.
12 Confirm that you still have the blank Strokes layer in the Layers panel selected, and start painting snow flying behind the skier. If you want to start over again, choose Select > All and press Delete.
Saving the new Brush
You can save your own customized brushes by following these steps.
1 To save the Brush, click the New icon (
) located in the bottom-right of the Brush panel. The Brush Name dialog box appears.
) located in the bottom-right of the Brush panel. The Brush Name dialog box appears.
2 Type MyBrush in the Name text field, and then click OK.
3 If you want to use your brush in the future, you can find it by selecting Window > Brush Presets and scrolling to the bottom of the list. Your saved brush appears there.
4 Choose File > Save to save this file. Keep it open for the next part of this lesson. If a Photoshop options dialog box appears, click OK.
Adding strokes to vector images
In this next section, you will add a set of vector shapes and then add strokes to the shapes.
1 Select the Rectangle 1 layer.
2 Select the Custom Shape tool (
) from the Tools panel.
) from the Tools panel.
3 Click the Shape drop-down menu, on the right side of the Options bar and select Snowflake 3.
4 Click the image area once. By clicking the image area, you can enter the size of the shape without first creating it. The Create Custom Shape dialog box appears.
5 Enter 60 into the width and height text fields, and click OK.
Put in exact values for your new custom shape.
The shape is created and a new Vector layer called Shape 1 has been added in the Layers panel.
A new vector layer is added.
6 With the Custom Shape tool still selected, click Fill in the Options bar and select the No Color icon.
Change the Fill to No Color.
7 Click Stroke and select the 50% Grey color swatch.
8 In the Options bar, change the stroke size from 3 pt to 2 pt.
Select 50% gray for the stroke color, and change the size to 2 pt.
9 Hide the path selection by choosing View > Show > Target Path, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+H (Windows) or Command+Shift+H (Mac OS).
10 Select Set shape stroke type in the Options bar, and then click More Options; the Stroke dialog box appears.
Selecting a shape stroke type using the Stroke dialog box.
Change the following:
Select Center from the Align drop-down menu.
Make sure Round is selected for both the Caps and Corners.
Make sure the Dashed Line checkbox is checked and enter the first four values at 2.
11 Click Save to save your custom stroke, and then click OK; your new stroke is added to the Stroke Options drop-down menu.
Change the stroke options and save it as a preset.
12 Choose File > Save to save this file. Keep it open for the next part of this lesson.
Cloning your new snowflake
In this section, you will clone the snowflake several times and then merge all the new snowflake vector layers into one layer.
1 Select the Move tool (
). Position your cursor over the snowflake that you just created, and then press and hold the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac OS). Notice that a double cursor appears (
).
). Position your cursor over the snowflake that you just created, and then press and hold the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac OS). Notice that a double cursor appears ().
2 While pressing and holding the Alt/Option key, click and drag a copy of the snowflake to another location in the image area. No exact location is necessary.
Press and hold the Alt/Option key and drag to clone (copy) the snowflake.
3 Position your cursor over the newly-cloned snowflake, press and hold the Alt/Option key, and duplicate that snowflake as well.
4 Repeat step 3 so that you have a total of four snowflakes on the image and you have created an additional four layers in your Layers panel.
The image with the four cloned snowflakes.
5 In the Layers panel, click the topmost layer, called Shape 1 copy 3, and then Shift+click the layer called Shape 1. This selects all four layers. Notice that your layers might have slightly different names.
Select all the new layers.
6 Press Ctrl+E (Windows) or Command+E (Mac OS) to merge the layers. You can also select Layers > Merge Shapes .
7 Select the Path Selection tool (
) that is located directly beneath the Type tool in the Tools panel, and click and drag any of the snowflake shapes to reposition it. Notice that the shapes remain independent even though you have merged the layers to vector.
) that is located directly beneath the Type tool in the Tools panel, and click and drag any of the snowflake shapes to reposition it. Notice that the shapes remain independent even though you have merged the layers to vector.
8 Select one snowflake and press Ctrl+T or Command+T (Mac OS); a bounding box appears. Grab a corner point to resize the snowflake down in size; no specific size is necessary. Press the Enter (Windows), or the Return (Mac OS) key when you are finished resizing to commit the change.
9 Using the Path Selection tool, select and resize several other snowflakes to random sizes.
Adding Text layers from another document
In this next section, you will add text to the image and then save the text as a style, thus allowing you to reuse the style and keep your text styles consistent. To save time, you will open a .psd file with the text layers already created. You will then move both layers to your ps0101_work.psd file.
1 Choose File > Open, and then browse to and select ps0102.psd; a file opens with a transparent background and two text layers in the layers panel.
2 Click the Pure text layer, and then Shift+click the Powder text layer to select both layers.
Press Shift + click to select both layers.
3 Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl+click (Mac OS) on the right side of either layer, and then select Duplicate Layers from the contextual menu that appears. You can also select Layer > Duplicate Layers.
Select Duplicate Layers from the contextual menu.
4 When the Duplicate Layers dialog box appears, select ps0101_work.psd from the Document drop-down menu in the Destination section, and click OK.
Duplicate the selected layers to an open file.
5 In the ps0102.psd file, choose File > Close to close the file.
6 Return to the ps0101_work.psd file, select the Type tool (
), and then click the text area that contains Pure to activate the cursor in that text area. Once your cursor is active, press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac OS) to select all, or choose Select > All from the menu.
), and then click the text area that contains Pure to activate the cursor in that text area. Once your cursor is active, press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac OS) to select all, or choose Select > All from the menu.
7 The text is already set to Myriad Pro in the Set the font family drop-down menu. In the Set the font style drop-down menu, select Bold.
Now you will decrease the spacing between each letter by changing the tracking value in the text.
8 Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS)+() left arrow repeatedly to decrease the spacing between the letters. Visually, decrease the size until you like the results. If you want to spread the text back out, press Ctrl+() right arrow until you have the spacing that you want.
Before tracking the text.
After tracking the text.
Select Window > Paragraph Styles; the Paragraph Styles panel appears. In Photoshop CS6, you can save both Paragraph and Character styles. Applying a saved paragraph style changes the style of text in an entire paragraph. Applying a saved character style allows you to change just the style of selected text.
You can easily create styles from text that you have already applied different attributes to, as you will do with the text that you just changed.
9 Click the Create new Paragraph Style button; Paragraph Style 1 appears in the Paragraph Styles panel.
Create a new paragraph style based on your text formatting.
10 Double-click Paragraph Style 1 to open the Paragraph Styles Options dialog box and view the attributes that are stored in this style.
11 Change the Style name by typing Headline into the Style Name text field, and click OK.
Change the style name.
12 Make sure that you are still on the Type tool, click anywhere in the Powder text area, and then click the Headline style that appears in the Paragraph Styles panel. The same text attributes are applied.
13 Click the Commit any current edits button (
) in the Options bar to commit your style change.
) in the Options bar to commit your style change.
A plus sign next to the Headline style indicates that there may have been a style manually applied. Click the Clear Overrides button (
) at the bottom of the Paragraph Styles panel to apply only the Headline style attributes to the text.
Updating text styles
As you can see, saving styles can help you build more consistent text content, and it can also help you edit text more quickly. In this next section, you will make a change to your Headline paragraph style.
1 Double-click the Headline text style in the Paragraph Styles panel to open the Paragraph Style Options dialog box.
2 Click once on the Color field at the bottom of the Paragraph Style Options dialog box; the Color Picker appears.
3 Your cursor is now an eyedropper; use it to sample a color from your image. Choose a light gray from the snow and click OK in both dialog boxes. The style has been updated.
If your style does not automatically update, press the Clear Overrides (
) button.
4 Choose File > Save and then File > Close to close this file.
Cropping an image
In this section you receive a quick overview of the Crop tool (
) and how to use it in Photoshop CS6. Keep in mind that if you have used the Crop tool in previous versions, it has been improved on Photoshop CS6.
) and how to use it in Photoshop CS6. Keep in mind that if you have used the Crop tool in previous versions, it has been improved on Photoshop CS6.
1 Choose File > Browse in Bridge. If you do not already have the contents of the ps01lessons folder open, click the Favorites tab in the upper-left of the Bridge workspace, and then choose Desktop. Locate the ps01lessons folder.
2 Open the ps01lessons folder and double-click to open the ps0101_done.psd file. This is a final version of the completed lesson file from the previous exercise.
3 Choose File > Save As to open the Save As dialog box. Using the Save In drop-down menu, navigate to the ps01lessons folder. Typeps0102_work in the File Name text field and choose Photoshop from the Format drop-down menu. Then click Save. If the Photoshop Format Options dialog box appears, click OK.
4 In the Layers panel, select the Background layer, and then hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) and double-click on the Background layer. This converts the Background layer into a layer named Layer 0.
5 Select the Crop tool. Handles appear around the image area. You can now crop using one of three main methods:
• Click and drag from the anchor points surrounding your image
• Click and drag anywhere in your image to create a new crop area.
• Enter in a fixed (Constrained) size in the textboxes in the Options bar while the Crop tool is selected.
Since the first two methods are self-explanatory, you will experiment with the third method, entering a fixed amount for your crop area.
6 In the Options bar enter 500 px in the first textbox, and 300 px in the second textbox. Press the Tab key after you type in the 300 px value. The crop area immediately changes on your screen to reflect this amount.
Enter pixel values into the Crop tool Options bar.
7 Uncheck the Delete Cropped Pixels checkbox in the Options bar.
8 Click and drag from the lower-right corner to see that your crop area remains proportionally correct to the values that you have entered. You can also see a crop preview in your layers panel. Click and drag to any size, making sure that you have some of the image area cropped, as indicated by the crop overlay that appears on your image.
9 Press the Commit current crop operation button (
) in the far right of the Options bar.
) in the far right of the Options bar.
10 Select your Move tool (
), and then select Layer 0. Click and drag to reposition the contents of this layer. Note that the pixels were not actually deleted; you can reposition any of the layers in this image file to show original content. Keep in mind that the cropped content of layers is saved, but not Background layers. This is why you converted the Background layer into a layer in step 4.
), and then select Layer 0. Click and drag to reposition the contents of this layer. Note that the pixels were not actually deleted; you can reposition any of the layers in this image file to show original content. Keep in mind that the cropped content of layers is saved, but not Background layers. This is why you converted the Background layer into a layer in step 4.
Self study
There are many more vector capabilities that you can take advantage of in Adobe Photoshop CS6. Try loading additional custom shapes and experimenting with different fills and strokes.
You can also save your own custom shapes. If you have Adobe Illustrator, you can follow these steps to save your vector art from Adobe Illustrator as a custom shape in Adobe Photoshop.
1 Open the PureSki logo.ai artwork in Adobe Illustrator.
2 Choose Select > All. You can also press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac OS), and choose Edit > Copy.
3 Return to any image file in Adobe Photoshop and choose Edit > Paste; when the Paste dialog box appears, choose Shape Layer and click OK.
4 With the Shape layer still selected, choose Edit > Define Custom Shape.
5 When the Shape Name dialog box appears, type a name (for example, Pure logo), and click OK. The shape is now available in your custom shape drop-down menu.
6 When you are finished with this exercise you can choose File > Close to close this file.
Review
Questions
1 How do you create a dashed stroke in Photoshop CS6?
2 How do you make a vector shape into an exact size?
3 What feature can you use to move multiple layers from one file to another?
4 What is the difference between a Paragraph and a Character Style?
Answers
1 In Photoshop CS6, you can use any of the vector shape tools (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Elliptical, Polygon, Line, or Custom shape tools) to create a vector shape or line. You can then select Set Stroke Shape Type in the Options bar to open the Stroke Options. Subsequently, you can select a preset dashed stroke, or click More Options and then check Dashed Line to create a custom stroke.
2 You can create a shape (does not work with the Line tool) in an exact size by selecting the tool and then clicking once in the image area. You can then enter the width and height values in the Create Custom Shape dialog box.
3 You can right-click (Windows) or Ctrl+click (Mac OS) on a layer or layers, and select Duplicate Layers. You can then designate another open file as the destination, or choose New to create a new file with the layers already included.
4 A Paragraph style changes the attributes of text in an entire paragraph. A Character style allows you to change just the attributes of the selected text.
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