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Using a rectangular or elliptical marquee, delete multiple parts of an image in an interesting manner. NOTE: Turning on the grid snap (Ctrl+' to enable your grid.) might be an interesting way of getting some unique and unified deletions. Press Ctrl+D to deselect (get ride of the marquee) so you can reselect elsewhere. Remember, according to the Gestalt Principle of Closure, we don't need the complete image to make sense of it. Push this principle as far as you can in this exercise but the final result should still be recognizable for what it contains.

 

 

Exercise 2: (save as VC130_Week1_Exercise2.jpg)

 

Using a rectangular or elliptical marquee, isolate part of the image, copy it (Ctrl+C), paste it (Ctrl+V), and then use the Move Tool (V) to move the duplicate to another part of the image such that the resulting image is more interesting to look at than the original. NOTE: Holding down Shift while moving will allow you to move your selection in a straight line or forty-five degree angle.

 

 

Exercise 3: (save as VC130_Week1_Exercise3.jpg)

 

Using a rectangular or elliptical marquee, isolate part of the image, press Ctrl+T (transform tool) and scale the selection 200%. Copy and paste the scaled selection (just like you performed in the previous exercise) then move it to another part of the image such that the resulting image is more interesting to look at than the original.

 

 

Exercise 4: (save as VC130_Week1_Exercise4.jpg)

 

Using an elliptical marquee, rotate (Ctrl+T) one or more parts of an image in an interesting manner.  Hold down the Shift key while making an elliptical marquee to make a circular selection. Holding down the Alt key while making a selection expands the selection from the center out (as opposed from corner to corner). Experiment with various angles of rotation by either free rotating or specifying a rotation angle in the input box. For added interest, rotate parts of the image previously rotated.

 

 

Exercise 5: (save as VC130_Week1_Exercise5.jpg)

 

Using a rectangular or elliptical marquee, isolate part of the image then go to the Filter pull-down menu and experiment with various Artistic, Brush and Distort filters. Try different settings and combinations of filters. If you don't like the results then step backward in history (Ctrl+Alt+Z). Find a filter(s) that increase the interest of the original image.

 

 

Car with a Distort > Twirl filter applied to a elliptical selection for the front and rear tires.

 

Exercise 6: (save as VC130_Week1_Exercise6.jpg)

 

Using an elliptical (circular) selection, select an interesting part of an image and copy it to the clipboard (Ctrl+C). Open a new file (File > New). For the new file width, multiply the number shown by 10 (e.g. if the width shown in the width field is 15 then retype it as 150). Paste (Ctrl+V) the image on the clipboard into the middle of the composition. Use the Move Tool (V) to move the image to the left side of the composition. You can use the arrow keys between the alpha and numeric pad of the keyboard to nudge the image in single pixel intervals. You might find it helpful to Zoom In (Ctrl+=) and Zoom Out (Ctrl+-) to nudge the image more accurately. When you have positioned the first image, paste another copy of the image (Ctrl+V) and position it next to the first (leave no space between the images). Repeat this until you have a chain of ten images in a row. If you want to add in some variety, rotate each selection as you go. NOTE: Every time you paste an image from the clipboard into the composition it adds the image on a new layer (see Layers Palette F7). In order to manipulate an image you must select the layer the image resides in the Layers Palette. If you get to the end and there is not enough room, it is because you didn't position each of the images close enough together. If this happens, right click over each image, select the layer the image resides on, and then nudge it with the arrow keys. Repeat this process until there is enough room for the last image. 

 

 

Exercise 7: (save as VC130_Week1_Exercise7.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will use a rectangular marquee to select an interesting part of the image, and then use the Image > Crop command to remove all parts of the image around it. The end result should be a cropping that is more interesting to look at than the original image.

 

    

 

The image on the left is compositionaly unremarkable. Isolating the interrelationship between the gears allows us to remove the unnecessary fluff and focus on the the aged detail of the gears (as seen in the crop on the right). The best way to learn how to crop is to study cropped images.

 

 

Exercise 8: (save as VC130_Week1_Exercise8.jpg)

 

In the VC130 Images Resources folder (to the right side of this wiki) find the image called tree.jpg. Copy and paste this image into a new Photoshop file. Your creative task is to add square and circular selections (be sure to hold down shift while making the selection) from other images with interesting colors and textures as "ornaments" to this tree. To add variety, make the ornaments different sizes and rotation values. Use overlapping to create a sense of depth. Create clusters of various images (like bunches of grapes). Choose selections from images with varying colors and textures.  It should look like the images are clustered at the end of the bare branches. Have fun!

 

 

Deliverables and format: Each exercise will be done in its own Photoshop file. Save each file as both a .PSD (Photoshop file) and a .JPG (in Photoshop, select File > Save for Web and Devices) using the file-naming format "VC130_Week1_Exercise?" where ? is the exercise # listed above.  Upload all of the .JPG images to the VC130 Week 1 set on Coroflot.com.

 

Week 2

 

Writing Assignment 1:

 

Title: Elements in Design

 

Introduction: Design elements constitute the content of a design. The project will enable you to identify these elements used in real life.

 

Tasks: Using magazines, books, or the Internet find an advertisement that best represents the use of the five design elements discussed in this unit. Answer the following questions:

• Why did the design interest you?
• How are each of the elements used? (line, shape, type, color, texture)
• Which elements are best in communicating the meaning of the design? (NOTE: The meaning of the design is what the makers of the design would have you believe about what is being advertised.)
• Which element(s) are not suited for communicating the meaning of the design? What other purpose(s) might they serve?
• Is there any element that stands out over the others? How?
• How do you think seeing the design elements being used in this manner influences your future work? 

 

Deliverables and format: Submit your printed report prepared in a Word document (one page per image discussed). Include the example of the image being discussed to substantiate your report. Use 10 pt Arial and double line spacing.

 

Due Date: Next week at the beginning of class.

 

 

Writing Assignment 2:

 

Title: Learning design using the ITT Tech Virtual Library

 

Tasks: Print out the article "The Principles of Design." By: David McClurg-Genevese, Joshua. Digital Web Magazine, listed in the Next Week's Reading section below.

 

Due Date: Next week at the beginning of class.

 

 

Lab 1:

 

Title: Photoshop Selection Techniques

 

Introduction: This lab will allow you to explore a variety of Photoshop selection techniques including: the Polygonal Lasso tool, Lasso tool, Magic Wand tool, Quick Select tool and the Refine Edge command. NOTE: A list of selection hotkeys can be found at the end of this section.

 

Tasks: In this battery of exercises you will be using images from morguefile.com,  flickr.com and Google image search, and applying the best selection tool to extract that image from its background. The images that you select for each tool are up to you, however, be sure to select the image that works best for the selection method applied (i.e. don't use the Magic Wand selection technique to extract an image from a non-solid background). As always, try to find the highest resolution image with the best edge-quality (the edge you will be selecting around) possible. Each image will be presented on a solid white background with a 20px (min) drop shadow (RGB 150 150 150). Any image submitted without the drop shadow will counted as ZERO credit. After you upload the image to Coroflot, be sure to specify which selection tool you use and your reasoning for using that tool.

 

NOTE: Images from flickr.com are often protected from saving or copying. To get around this, press the Print Scrn (Print Screen) key on your keyboard. This will copy a snapshot of your desktop to the Windows clipboard. You can then start a new Photoshop document (at the default dimensions) then paste the image (Ctrl+V) from the clipboard into this new document.

 

Exercise 1: (save as VC120_Week2_Exercise1.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will be using the Polygon Lasso tool to extract part of an image, comprised entirely of straight lines, from its background. You will not be using this tool arbitrarily, but instead, you will follow the outline of some shape from a high resolution photograph of your choice.

 

The Polygonal Lasso tool (L) is the tool of choice for making selections comprised of straight line segments. I also find it sufficient for selecting around complex geometry comprised of straight lines AND curves, but only if a high level of accuracy is not necessary. I do not recommend using this tool for selecting around elements that have large smooth curves as the only way to approximate this curvature is with a large number of smaller line segments (in which case the Pen Tool would be the tool of choice). I frequently use the Polygon Lasso tool for much of my quick-and-dirty selection work. I use it frequently to make selections around people and animals though I don't recommend it for circumstances where there is a lot of hair/fur/feather detail. In these cases, the use of the Extract Filter or 3rd party plug-in may be the better choice as the Polygon Lasso tool was not meant for this type of work.

 

When tracing around curves with this tool be sure to add in extra segments to better approximate the curvature. The backspace can be used to undo the previous segment. While you are using this tool, hold down the spacebar to pan around the image.

 

As is the case with all selections, be sure to apply the Refine Edge tool (Select > Refine Edge, or Ctrl+Alt+R) with the following settings: .5px feather, 35% contrast. After applying the Refine Edge tool, click on the Add Layer Mask tool at the bottom of the Layers Palette. After this, apply a drop shadow (using the settings described above) to the masked layer by clicking on the Layer Effects button then selecting Drop Shadow at the bottom of the Layers Palette.

 

Exercise 2: (save as VC120_Week2_Exercise2.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will be using the Polygon Lasso tool to extract part of an image, comprised of both straight lines and curves (but not large smooth curves), from its background. For this exercise I would recommend tracing around a human, creature or caricature of a human or creature so you are not limited to using a photograph (e.g. you could trace around a high resolution image of your favorite video game character). Try to be as accurate as possible. Be patient, as creating a complex selection with the Polygon Lasso tool can take upward of ten minutes.

 

Follow the guidelines for edge refinement as described in Exercise 1 above.

 

Exercise 3: (save as VC120_Week2_Exercise3.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will be using the Magic Wand tool to extract part of an image that is already on a single, solid colored background.

 

The Magic Wand tool (hidden beneath the Quick Select tool) is used to select a consistently colored area (for example, a red flower) without having to trace its outline. Photographs are rarely taken against a solid color background. Even in the event that something is photographed on a solid background you would still have shadows on the surface of the background due to lighting. More often than not, you will use the Magic Wand tool to extract part of an image that was digitally set against a solid color background (e.g. a green screen). The Magic Wand tool does have other purposes but those will have to be discussed at another time.

 

The trick to learning how to use the Magic Wand tool effectively is understanding how to tweak the Tolerance value to get the desired result. For Tolerance, enter a value in pixels, ranging from 0 to 255. Enter a low value to select the few colors very similar to the pixel you click, or enter a higher value to select a broader range of colors. I find that it is often necessary to clean up work done in the Magic Wand tool using another selection method such as the Polygon Lasso or Lasso tools

 

Follow the guidelines for edge refinement as described in Exercise 1 above.

 

Exercise 4: (save as VC120_Week2_Exercise4.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will be using the Quick Select tool to extract part of an image that is already on a single, solid colored background.

 

The Quick Select tool is a recent addition to Photoshop and was meant to be a more powerful version of the Magic Wand tool (so much that the Magic Wand tool is now hidden beneath the Quick Select tool). Like the Magic Wand tool, the Quick select tool is best used when trying to select a part of an image that is against a solid color background. However, the Quick Select tool is much more forgiving and doesn't require that the background be of a consistent tone. I've even found this tool useful for isolating parts of images that are of a mediocre resolution and a variable tone background, when other methods such as the Polygon Lasso or Pen tool were inadequate. Like most selection techniques, practice makes perfect. Try this Quick Select tutorial at Photoshop Cafe.

 

To resize the area of influence of the Quick Select tool use the [ and ] keys. It often takes multiple selections to achieve the final result and, like the Magic Wand tool, often requires a little retouching with other selection techniques.

 

Follow the guidelines for edge refinement as described in Exercise 1 above.

 

Helpful Selection Commands:

 

• Invert selection (Ctrl+Shift+I)
• Select all (Ctrl+A)
• Ctrl+click on the picture of the layer in the Layer palette to select the edges of that layer.
• Refine edge (Ctrl+Alt+R)
• Deselect (Ctrl+D)

 

Lasso Resources:

 

• Check out this cheat sheet for the Lasso tools here.

 

Next Week's Quiz:

 

Next week's quiz will cover the topic of Design Elements as taken from the Week 2 presentation. Download the presentation here.

 

Next Week's Reading:

 

• Graphic Design School - Glossary, pp. 184-186.
• ITT Tech Virtual Library > Periodicals > Program Related Online Journals and Magazines, Digital Web Magazine, "The Principles of Design." By: David McClurg-Genevese, Joshua. Digital Web Magazine, June 13, 2005.
• Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop CS3 - Chapters 1-5

 

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Week 3

 

Writing Assignment 1:

 

Title: Principles of Design

 

Introduction: Design principles represent HOW the elements of design (discussed last week) are organized in a design. The project will enable you to identify these elements used in real life.

 

Tasks: Using magazines, books, or the Internet find an advertisement that best represents the use of the five design elements discussed in this unit. Answer the following questions:

• Why did the design interest you?
• Describe how each principle was used in a composition. For this week I want you to find one example each of the following principles: emphasis, hierarchy, flow, position and balance. In the case of Position, find a composition that did or didn't adhere to the Rule of Unequal Spacing. NOTE: You do not have to describe how every principle is used in every composition, only one principle per composition. I'm not THAT sadistic!
• What technique(s) did the designer use to implement this principle? (e.g. was emphasis created through the use of size or color?)
• How did this principle contribute to the communication of the message?
• How did this principle contribute (or not contribute) to your enjoyment of the composition?

 

Deliverables and format: Submit your printed report prepared in a Word document (one page per image discussed). Include the example of the image being discussed to substantiate your report. Use 10 pt Arial and double line spacing.

 

Due Date: Next week at the beginning of class.

 

 

Lab 1: 

 

This week you will be completing the restoration of the famous American Gothic by Grant Wood utilizing the Clone Stamp Tool as discussed in class this week. The actual color of the photo will be restored by applying a Color Balance Adjustment Layer. A recoloring of the sky will necessitate the use of a Polygonal Selection and a gradient ramp. 

 

In the VC100 Image Resources folder (to the right side of this wiki) find the image called American_Gothic_Destroyed. Copy and paste this image into a new Photoshop file. Your creative task is to restore this piece of classic American art as closely to the original as possible. When you are done, you will combine the restoration and the original together into a single Photoshop file then upload this montage to your portfolio. To do this, I would recommend copying and pasting the image called American_Gothic_Original into a new Photoshop file. Then, double the height of the canvas by selecting Image > Canvas Size. Pressing Ctrl+0 will allow you to fit the entire canvas on the screen. You will need to use a combination of the Move Tool and keyboard nudging to move the original to the top or bottom of the canvas. Back in your Photoshop file of the restoration, temporarily flatten the layers by selecting Layer > Flatten Image . This will condense all the layers into a single layer making it easy for you to drag and drop the image into the original. Do not save the flattened version of the restoration! Once you have dragged the restoration into the original Transform + shift scale the restoration layer (Ctrl+T) to match the width of the original. Avoid leaving any white gaps on any side of the image except the gutter between them, where it is permissible. Side-by-side there should be little visible difference between the two images.

 

A little history about American Gothic from the Art Institute of Chicago:

 

"Grant Wood’s American Gothic caused a stir in 1930 when it was exhibited for the first time at The Art Institute of Chicago and awarded a prize of 300 dollars. Newspapers across the country carried the story, and the painting of a farm couple posed before a white house brought the artist instant fame. The Iowa native, then in his late 30s, was enchanted by a cottage he had seen in the small southern Iowa town of Eldon. Its Gothic Revival style, indicated by the upper window designed to resemble a medieval pointed arch, inspired the painting’s title. He asked his dentist and his sister Nan to pose as a farmer and his unmarried daughter. The highly detailed style and rigid frontal arrangement of the figures were inspired by Northern Renaissance art, which the artist studied during three trips to Europe. After returning to Iowa, he became increasingly appreciative of the traditions of the Midwest, which he also celebrated in works such as this.

 

American Gothic remains one of the most famous paintings in the history of American art. It is a primary example of Regionalism, a movement that aggressively opposed European abstract art, preferring depictions of rural American subjects rendered in a representational style. The painting has become part of American popular culture, and the couple has been the subject of endless parodies. Some believe that Wood used this painting to satirize the narrow-mindedness and repression that has been said to characterize Midwestern culture, an accusation he denied. The painting may also be read as a glorification of the moral virtue of rural America or even as an ambiguous mixture of praise and satire."

 

Clone Stamping Resources:

 

Above is a basic tutorial.

 

Above is a Photoshop CS3 Cloning new feature tutorial.

 

• Be sure to check out the Repair and Restoration video at Adobe's Video Workshop.
• Also, read this article on why cloning layers should be BELOW adjustment layers and how to do it.

 

A lot of students ask about the difference between the Clone Stamp (old school) and Healing Brush (new school).  The Clone Stamp tool lets you clone exact pixels from one part of your image to another. You must Alt-Click (Mac: Option-Click) to establish a reference point then move your mouse the area you want to apply the pixels. This tool makes an exact copy of the pixels without any merging of the surrounding pixels.

 

• An article on how to quickly straighten a crooked photo here.

 

 

Project 1:

 

Title: Implied Motion Poster

 

Introduction: Design a sports poster. The poster needs to imply a sense of motion associated with the chosen sport.

 

Course Objectives Tested: Use Adobe Photoshop to create attractive compositions by applying design fundamentals (elements and principles).

 

Tasks:

 

1. Select any sport. Suggested sports include, but are not limited to: basketball, tennis, swimming, golf, soccer, etc. 
2. Research the sport, its history, most popular players, and other details. Wikipedia.org is a good place to start your research. Keep reference materials.
3. Brainstorm ideas for "implied motion" through word lists and sketches. For example, if you chose golf, words relating to motion in golf might include: swing, hook, slice, drive, loft etc. Also consider the elements "in motion" in golf such as: club, club head, ball, arms, hands, hips, wind etc.
4. Look at images related to the sport you have selected on Google Image search, flickr.com and morguefile.com. Save images that you see as having "implied motion." Don't only type in the name of the sport you have selected, but more specific phrases (which works especially well when using Google and Flickr). For example, "golf swing", "golf stroke", "golf address", "golf follow through", "golf posture" etc. Use the image size dropdown in Google to find images of varying sizes. For your final images you extract in Photoshop, you will want to find images above 600x600 pixels (depending on how large they will appear in your final composition).
5. Develop a concept for your poster based on both our research. For example, let's say that based on your research of soccer, you decide to focus on the "swoosh" of the ball leaving the players foot heading toward the goal. Your idea is to depict a soccer player prior to contacting the ball at her feet. She is imagining the trajectory of the ball as it travels to the net (unseen). The ball will be copied and scaled multiple times as it follows its path. The last instance of the ball will be a circle with the Nike logo inside of it. Written to the right is the word "reach" implying "reach with your mind." See visuals below. 
6. Once you have your concept clear, in your mind you will want to find a single high resolution photograph to base your design around. Be sure that the photograph matches the perspective of other elements that might be present in the design (e.g. don't use a side view of a soccer player if the ball is flying toward the viewer!). I would recommend printing out a copy of this image then trace it on some copy paper. Play around with various sizes and positions of the dominant images in your sketches. Don't worry about sketching all the detail, only the silhouette should suffice as you are trying to generate ideas quickly. Think about what other elements will be present in your design. In the example above, it is the soccer player and the ball that act as the dominant images in the design. Addition elements I chose included: a rectangular vignette behind the player to pop her out from the background, a trace of the Nike logo and the type "reach." Keep your design simple. Try to incorporate as many of the design elements discussed in class this week (i.e. photo, line, shape, type, texture, color). This concept sketch is due and must be approved by the instructor next week, while the completed design is due the following week.
7. After you have a completed sketch of your design it is time to build it in Photoshop. We will be using A1 size for this project. The exact dimensions of A1 can be found in the Resources section at the back of your "Graphic Design School" textbook. When extracting the elements from your photos, stick to the selection methods we have discussed thus far (i.e. rectangular marquee, elliptical marquee, polygonal lasso and quick select). Be sure to apply the Refine Edge command on your selection before you apply a layer mask. I recommend refine edge settings of: .5px feather, 35% contrast. You may consider a -1 pixel contraction if the edges of your selection are still picking up excessive amounts of background color.

 

          You will be applying the following Photoshop concepts in this assignment:

 

• Using selection tools to extract an image from its surroundings
• Setting up layers
• Duplicating layers
• Adding layer masks
• Filling in selections with color
• Moving, rotating and scaling selections
• Creating and modifying type
• Adding drop shadows behind elements
• Adding lines and shapes using shape and pen tool (not covered this week)

 

Deliverables and format: A1 poster size. Save as both a .PSD (Photoshop file) and a .JPG (in Photoshop, select File > Save for Web and Devices) using the file-naming format "VC100_Project1". Save a second version of the .JPG to be Coroflot ready (1000px high). Upload the .JPG image to a VC100 Projects set on Coroflot.com. The best poster in the class (as selected by your peers and instructor) will be plotted out full-size and displayed in the hallway.

 

Due Date: At the beginning of class week 4.

 

Project 1 Sample:

 

Inspirational image

 

Concept sketch using trace from inspirational image

 

 

Final design. Download the sample Photoshop file here.

 

Techniques used:

• I cut the soccer player out using the Polygonal Lasso tool, with the Refine Edge settings as specified in last weeks labs. 
• I applied the drop shadow as a Layer Effect. You can see the drop shadow settings in the downloadable file.
• To get the orange rectangular vignette behind her, I created a new layer beneath her, and then I used the rectangular marquee to establish the size of the vignette. I chose orange because it is a complementary color of dark blue (used in her shorts). Complementary colors are on opposing sides of the painter's color wheel. To fill in a selection with the foreground color, press Ctrl+Backspace. To fill in a selection with the background color, press Alt+Backspace.
• I cut out the soccer ball using the elliptical marquee tool (holding down shift to make it a perfectly circular selection). To duplicate the ball, I dragged the layer it resides on to the New Layer icon (next to the left of the trash can icon at the bottom of the Layers palette F7). I duplicated the drop shadows from the layer the girl was on by right-clicking on her layer and selecting "Copy Layer Effect." I then right clicked on the each of the soccer ball layers and selected the "Paste Layer Effect" option thus copying the drop shadow effect to each layer. Each ball of scaled (Ctrl+T) in equal intervals.
• I created the orange circle in the same manner as the orange vignette, except I started with an elliptical marquee selection. On a layer above this one I traced a Nike Logo (this layer is turned off in the sample file) with the Pen Tool (with the draw as path option selected). I then converted the path to a selection in the Paths palette and filled it in white.
• The last step was to add in the type. I selected a typeface (Bickman Script) that I felt was representative of the Nike tone and had a hint of grace and femininity. I positioned the type such that it was vertically centered on the orange circle and right justified on the furthest extent of the girl's left hand.

 

 

Next Week's Quiz:

 

Next week's quiz will cover the topic of Design Principles as taken from the Week 3 presentation. This quiz will only cover the first five principles. The remaining principles we be discussed the following week. Download the presentation here.

 

Next Week's Reading:

 

• Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop CS3 - Chapters 6-7

 

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Week 4

 

Writing Assignment 1:

 

Title: Principles of Design Pt. 2

 

Introduction: Design principles represent HOW the elements of design (discussed last week) are organized in a design. The project will enable you to identify these elements used in real life.

 

Tasks: Using the AIGA.com Design Archive find an advertisement that best represents the use of the design principles discussed over the last two weeks. Complete the following.

• For each of the design princples listed below you are to print out a copy of graphic design composition on 8.5"x11" paper. NOTE: In order to copy the images from the Flash player you will need to select the Enlarged version of the image then press the Print Scrn key on the keyboard. Open up a new Photoshop file and press Ctrl+V to paste the image. Crop the image down to the proper format size and print it out (to Fit). Then, using a light table (located in Lab 1 or 3), place a piece of copy paper on top of the composition and using a pencil, trace the part of the composition that demonstrate that specific principle. If the format is smaller than the paper, then trace around the outside of the format as well. Use one piece of copy paper per principle and write the name of the principle in the lower-right corner.
• The principles you will be identifying and tracing include:
• • Variety
  • Unity
  • Grouping by proximity
  • Grouping by similarity
  • Repetition (specify which type)
  • Rhythym (specify which type)
  • Pattern

 

Deliverables and format: Staple your packet of traces and images together with the trace on top of each image. Put your name in the top-right corner of the front page.

 

Due Date: Next week at the beginning of class.

 

 

Lab 1:

 

Exercise 1: (save as VC100_Week4_Exercise1.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will utilize any of the selection techniques discussed thus far to extract an image from one photograph, and then seamlessly integrate it into another using layer masking. You will repeat this exercise THREE times with three different combinations of photos. I would recommend using high-resolution personal photos or from flickr.com. You are trying to suspend disbelief as much as possible such that the viewer believes it is plausible that the photo is authentic (though realism isn't necessary).

 

For example...

 

Starting image: Normally, a solid background calls for the Magic Wand or Background Eraser, but due to all the edge detail and the fact that I was going to blur the image in the background of the photo, I elected to use the Polygonal Lasso tool.

 

Original Photo

 

Final Composite

 

While this is a more advanced example, it exemplifies the concept of extracting an image from its background (in this case Sully) then placing it in a new image in such a way that it blends naturally. Techniques used include: polygonal lasso tool to cut out Sully and Mike, a layer mask to obscure parts of Sully and Mike behind the women, a Gaussian Blur filter on Sully and Mike to create the image of depth of field, and the Clone Stamp tool to fill in missing detail.

 

Items discussed this week that you should consider as a part of your workflow include:

• Adjustment layers to modify the brightness or contrast of the image you are compositing in order to match the lighting of the final scene.
• The Dodge Tool and Burn Tool to make spot adjustments to lightness and darkness in the images.
• Using the Paintbrush Tool to paint on the layer mask.

 

Masking Resources:

 

• Check out this article on how to make an image grandient ramp to fully transparenthere.
• Check out the brush tool cheat sheet here.

 

 

Next Week's Quiz:

 

Next week's quiz will cover the topic of Design Principles Pt. 2 as taken from the Week 4 presentation. Download the presentation here.

 

 

Next Week's Reading:

 

• Graphic Design School - Module 2, "Color," pp. 26-39
• Tigercolor.com
• Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop CS3 - Chapters 6-7

 

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Week 5

 

Writing Assignment 1:

 

Title: Color in Design

 

Introduction: This assignment will help you use color as a powerful visual force. It will also enable you to understand the various color schemes and their association with human psychology.

 

Color is a powerful visual force. Although the best designs look good in black and while also, color is the element of design that adds impact.

 

Tasks: Using the AIGA.com Design Archive find an advertisement that you admire for its color usage. Answer the following:

• What type of color scheme is being used (i.e. analogous, monochromatic, complimentary, split compliment, triadic or double compliment)? Some downloadable color wheels can be found here.
• Is each of the colors in the color schemes tints, shades, tones of the hue?
• What are the dominant, subdominant and subordinate colors within the harmony? Read about the 60/30/10 rule here.
• Do the colors used attempt to influence the mood or tone? Identify the mood.
• Did this piece effectively use color to attract attention and increase visibility? Explain.
• Did the use of color in this piece create unity? Explain.
• Is there any one element that stands out for its use of color? Explain.
• Were there other design elements, in addition to color, that contributed to the overall impact of the piece? Explain.

 

Deliverables and format: Submit your printed report prepared in a Word document (one page per image discussed). Include the example of the image being discussed to substantiate your report. Use 10 pt Arial and double line spacing.

 

Due Date: Next week at the beginning of class.

 

 

Lab 1:

 

Exercise 1: (save as VC100_Week5_Exercise1.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will utilize all of the selection techniques discussed this far to create a composition comprised of an objects sitting on an antiquated desk surface. While the main focus is for you to practice the selection techniques learned up to this point, the secondary focus is to learn how to proportiate elements of a composition. That is, an object that is 2x the side of another object in real life should be accurately scaled to match that proportion in the final composition. Similarly, drop shadows will be used to reinforce the dimension of relative height from the desk surface.

 

The composition will be positioned as if the viewer is looking down at the desk completely perpendicular to the table surface.

 

Task:

 

1. First, select a theme for your desk. The theme must be vintage (nothing I would expect to see on a desk in the last 30 years). For example:
   • A child's desk circa 1950
   • A pioneer school teacher's desk
   • A WWII general's desk
   • A pirate captain's desk
   • A wizard's desk
   • A ninja's collection of tools and weapons
   • A debutante's dressing room desk
   • A philatelist's desk (or anyone that collects memorabilia for that matter)
   • A vintage mechanic's workbench
   • A student's school desktop
   • A civil war memorabilia collector's desk
2. The next step is the hard part; finding high-resolution images of objects that will fit within the theme you have chosen in addition to being TOP VIEW. You should have anywhere from 10-15 unique objects (minimum) on the desk (excluding repeats). The size that the object will appear in the final image will determine the suitable resolution. I personally wouldn't use any image under 500x500 pixels. If the clarity in the object in the final composition is blurry or of diminished quality then I wouldn't use it. First, write down a list of object for your scene. For example, in the case of a child's desk you might consider the following:
   • A vintage lunch box
   • A paddle ball
   • Magnifying glass
   • Baseball cards
   • Comic books
   • Boy's Life or Grit magazine
   • A sling shot
   • A pile of marbles
   • Boy scout merit badge sash
   • Toy gun and badge
   • Baseball, mitt and cap
   • Etc...you get the idea

 

I recommend using a combination of Google image search (at varying image size options), Morguefile and Flickr for searching. In some cases you might find it very difficult to find the image you are looking for. In this case I would recommend a few strategies: 1) modify your search by using synonyms or more descriptive searches. For example, instead of "compass" try "military compass" or "wwi compass" or "antique compass" or "compass, top view" etc. not limiting yourself solely image searches because in MANY (most) cases, images will not be named or indexed the way you expect (especially on Google). Instead try full web searches. Most of the best vintage items I have found have been from image galleries of collectors or hobbyists. Get creative. In the case of not being able to find the right view (top views only), then persistence is really the only key to finding what you need. Some objects can be portrayed lying down on their sides (e.g. wine glass). Most importantly, try to thematically tie all of the images together.

 

If in the event that you just can't find enough of the images you are looking for, at the right vantage point, at the right level of quality then I would suggest changing your theme.

 

Store each image in a single folder. Be sure to collect all of your images before you put together your composition.

1. Before you put your composition together you need a great desk surface. I would recommend searching texture libraries such as morguefiles:

 

          http://www.morguefile.com/archive/index.php?display=1164

 

I would start by searching through the wood textures, though in some cases metal or other materials might be appropriate. You are trying to create a realistic desk scene so textures such as mossy wood, diamond plate, chain link fence or broken glass should probably be ruled out! Find a texture that is 1024x768 or higher. Any above 1024x768 should be scaled down using Image>Image size to 1024 wide. If your image size is too big you will find it difficult finding images that are high enough quality to match the desk surface.

1. Now it is time to start extracting your images from their backgrounds using the selection techniques discussed thus far this quarter. Don't ONLY rely on a single selection method, but instead look for opportunities to utilize a variety of techniques. Don't forget to apply the Refine Edge command before copying or masking the images. I would wait to perform any scaling or rotation until after all of your images are extracted. Be sure to name all of your layers as the layer list can get very long.
2. Once you have all of your images extracted it is time to scale, rotate and position them. This is a lot more difficult than it appears. First, you want to scale each object so that it is proportionate to all other objects in the scene. This is about 90% common sense and 10% experimentation. Next, think about what a cluttered desk might look like. Few objects are probably at right angles to each other and to the edge of the desk. Things will stack, overlap, extend beyond the confines of the screen and despite the chaos; even the most cluttered desk is probably asymmetrically balanced.

 

Trick: If you need to select an object but don't want to have to select the layer it is on in the Layer Palette, just right click over it. A list of all layers that are below your cursor will appear and you can select that entire layer from that list!

 

You may have to apply some Levels, Brightness/Contrast or Color Balance adjustment layers to unite the lighting and color variations.

 

Drop shadows are applied to a layer by selecting the layer and clicking on the "Add Layer Style" icon at the bottom of the Layer Palette. I would recommend using a dark gray for all drop shadows. Adjust the distance amount to account for the relative height of the objects. Instead of creating a new drop shadow for each object, instead copy the style by right-clicking on the layer in the Layer Palette and selecting Copy Layer Style. Select the layer you want to copy the style to then right-click and select "Paste Layer Style."

 

In conclusion, a good solution to this assignment is one where the images are united thematically, are of high image quality, are extracted accurately and integrated seamlessly, are scaled proportionately to the surrounding objects, are positioned in a balanced yet naturally cluttered way with varying degrees of overlap, and utilize drop shadows that accurately depict their true height. In other words, the desk looks realistic!

 

Vintage Image Resources:

 

• http://www.brassdragon.biz/

 

 

Next Week's Quiz:

 

Next week's quiz will cover the topic of Color as taken from the Week 5 presentation found at Tigercolor.com.

 

 

Next Week's Reading:

 

• Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop CS3 - Chapters 6-7  

 

Week 6

 

 

Writing Assignment 1:

 

Title: There is no writing assignment this week. However, I will allow you to turn in as many older past-due writing assignments as you'd like FOR ONLY ONE WEEKS LATE PENALTY. Please email these to the lab assistant before our next class.

 

 

Lab 1:

 

All of the assignments for this week will involve filling selections and paths with solid colors and gradients based on color harmonies. You will be using the Color Impact software found here and the COLOURlovers website. Photoshop .aco swatch files exported from these applications will need to be copied into the /Presets/Color Swatches sub-directory of Photoshop in order to be used. You will also have to register for a free account at COLOURlovers.com to be able to download the swatches in various formats.

 

Exercise 1: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise1.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will create a 300 x 300 (pixels) image of a single color. The color you select should be based on a color that can be associated with an everyday or commonplace object that evokes a common color in everyone's mind. Do not use objects that are named based on color (e.g. orange). Once you have settled on a word, find photographs of your object (use morguefile.com) and use the Eyedropper Tool (I) to take averages of that color. When you finally settle on a color, write down its RGB values and fill your 300x300 (pixels) square in with that color. Use the Type Tool (T) and place the name of that object at the center of the color swatch (no caps and only using achromatic color). A good solution will be one where the object is recognizable as the color selected by most people viewing it.

 

 

Exercise 2: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise2.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will create a 300x300 (pixels) image of a 2-color complementary pair. Each color will fill 1/2 of the square divided vertically. Do not tint, shade or tone the hues. To establish an accurate subdivision of space use the "Fixed Size" style option in the Marque Select Tool, or drag a guide to the middle of the composition while holding shift to constrain it. Use ColorImpact to create this harmony.

 

 

Exercise 3: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise3.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will create a 300x300 (pixels) image of a 3-color triadic harmony. Instead of dividing the space equally (like Exercise 2) you will fill three circular selections with each color. The circles should be overlapped in such a manner that none of the background color can be seen in the final image. Apply an equal amount of tinting (white) to each color. Use ColorImpact to create this harmony.

 

 

Exercise 4: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise4.jpg)

 

Find a five color palette from the Top Palette section of COLOURlovers.com that you find appealing. Recreate this palette as a 750x300 (pixels) image with the colors spaced equally.

 

 

Exercise 5: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise5.jpg)

 

Find a photograph from morguefile.com that is comprised of three colors that interest you. A good image will be comprised of one dominant, one subdominant and one subordinate color. Open that image in Photoshop and crop it to a 300x300 (pixels) image in such a way that the cropped image still has the three colors in it. Go to Image > Canvas Size and increase the width of the image to 600 pixels. You will have to reposition the image to one side of the canvas. Fill in the remaining half of the canvas with a linear gradient that includes all three colors. Adjust the gradient stops in such a manner that the spacing is equivalent to the proportions of each color in the photo.

 

 

Exercise 6: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise6.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will create a 300 x 300 (pixels) image comprised of a 4-color analogous harmony. The composition will comprised of nearly vertical overlapping lines created with the Shapes Tool (I). Use varying line thicknesses. It is okay if the white background color shows through. Apply an equal amount of toning (gray) to each color. Use ColorImpact to create this harmony.

 

 

Exercise 7: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise7.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will create a 300 x 300 (pixels) image comprised of a 3-color split-compliment harmony. The composition will be comprised of three concentric (all share the same center) circles. The circles should all be centered at the middle of the composition. It is easiest to drag a vertical and horizontal guide to the center while holding down the shift-key to ensure accuracy. The largest circle should fit completely within the composition without any cropping therefore; the white background color will show through in the four corners.

 

 

Exercise 8: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise8.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will create a 300 x 300 (pixels) image comprised of a 4-color tetradic (rectangular) harmony. The composition will be comprised of four of the same custom shape created with the Shapes Tool (U). NOTE: You are not limited to the default shapes. Different shape libraries can be loaded from the flyout menu. Each of the four identical shapes should vary in size. Apply an equal amount of shading (black) to each color. Use ColorImpact to create this harmony.

 

 

Exercise 9: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise9.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will create a 300 x 300 (pixels) image comprised of a 4-color monochromatic harmony (harmony comprised of a single hue). The composition will be comprised of a random repetition of the word "harmony." Each copy of the word will be the same size, with the same font, with the only variation being to color. Your harmony should be comprised of equal amounts of tinting, shading, or toning (but don't mix tints with tones or shades). Fill the background layer with a compliment of the hue being used in the monochromatic harmony.

 

 

Exercise 10: (save as VC100_Week6_Exercise10.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will create a 100 x 100 (pixels) image comprised of a 4-color square harmony. The square will be divided into four parts, with each of the four hues in its own corner. Only use pure hues in this harmony. After you have created this image, you will apply the Edit > Define Pattern command. Give the pattern a recognizable name. Next, create a new 300 x 300 (pixels) image. Use the Edit > Fill command, set the Use dropdown to "Pattern" and fill the entire image with the pattern you previously created.

 

 

Next Week's Quiz:

 

There will be a brief quiz on the operation of ColorImpact and the COLOURlovers utilities next week. I strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with the basic functionalities of each of these tools.

 

 

Next Week's Reading:

 

• Graphic Design School - Module 4, "Exploring Ideas," pp. 52-57
• Graphic Design School - Module 8, "From Concept to Visual," pp. 110-125

 

Week 7

 

 

Lab 1:

 

You can download the lab lecture notes here.

 

All of the assignments for this week utilize image mapping and color correction techniques found in the Image > Adjustments menu. You are welcome and encouraged to use adjustment layers and smart filters in this assignment, however, since this is a new feature, I'm still unsure how to mix smart filters and adjustment layers in any order (this may not be possible). Therefore, you ARE permitted to work on your images destructively. One of the advantages of using an adjustment layer is that it comes with a layer mask that you can use to limit the area-of-effect of the adjustment.

 

NOTE: If anyone figures out how to apply a filter or smart filter to a layer AFTER an adjustment layer is applied to that layer let me know! Meaning, the adjustment layer affects the image first, and then the layer/adjustment layer affects it second.

 

Each exercise should utilize a unique image found on flickr.com or morguefile.com. Use Image > Image Size to scale down your compositions so they will fit on Coroflot.

 

Remember ALWAYS to keep your histogram turned on during these exercises (Windows > Histogram).

 

Here are a few good articles on reading a historgram:

• http://tinyurl.com/rqccg (recommended)

 

Exercise 1: (save as VC100_Week7_Exercise1.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will apply the Invert color mapper to reverse the colors in part of an image as shown below. Try to creatively place your Invert adjustment to create interest. You are not limited to using a rectangular shaped mask.

 

 

 

Exercise 2: (save as VC100_Week7_Exercise2.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will use the Equalize adjustment on an image to balance out its tonal (brightness) distribution. Find an image that that has significantly more dark pixels than bright pixels, more bright pixels than dark pixels, or fewer midtone pixels compared to brights and darks. Initially, you will find this difficult without first bringing multiple images into Photoshop and looking at their Histograms. Be sure to show before and after as shown below. The shape and placement of the mask is entirely up to your discretion as long as you can see the affect of the effect before and after.

 

 

Exercise 3-5: (save as VC100_Week7_Exercise3.jpg, VC100_Week7_Exercise4.jpg and VC100_Week7_Exercise5.jpg)

 

In these three exercises you will use the Threshold adjustment to map colored pixels to black and white pixels. You will then apply a filter of your choice on top of this adjustment to create an effect. Since you will repeat this exercise three different times with three different images, try different filters each time. Also, try variations where you apply the filter first then use the Threshold adjustment.

 

Threshold w/ Ink outline filter

 

Glowing edge filter with Threshold applied after

 

Exercise 6: (save as VC100_Week7_Exercise6.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will use the Desaturate adjustment to selectively convert part of your image to grayscale. Use previously discussed selection techniques trace around one or more parts of the image that you will desaturated. In the image below I desaturated the toy robot while keeping its red eyes intact. Notice the uniform tonal distribution of the robot.

 

 

In this example I used Select > Color Range to select the blues in the sky (tweaked the Fuzziness slider to pick up water).

 

Exercise 7: (save as VC100_Week7_Exercise7.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will use the Black/White adjustment to desaturate a photo of your choice differently across various color channels. Watch the video tutorial here before completing this assignment.

 

Exercise 8: (save as VC100_Week7_Exercise8.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will use compare the subtle difference between the Auto Levels and Auto Contrast adjustments to a single image. In order to detect the difference, you will have to experiment on different images that don't already have a healthy distribution of brights and darks. Both Auto Levels and Auto Contrast allow you to subtly increase the contrast between the darkest and brightest parts of the image. Since Auto Levels acts independently on the different color channels (red, green and blue in an RGB document), it can remove colors or add colorcasts into the image.

 

When you bring the image into Photoshop, go to Image > Image Size and write down the width and height of the image. Next, select the Rectangular Marque (M) tool and set the Style dropdown to "Fixed Size." Enter the width divided by three (you may need a calculator) into the "width" field and the height of the image (you wrote down). This will allow you to create selections equal to one-third the width of the image. Apply the Auto Levels command to the left third and the Auto Contrast command to the right third. Leave the middle third intact. Notice the subtle differences in increased contrast? What differences can you discern? Was there any loss of color or colorcasts introduced into the image by using Auto Levels? This assignment is about noticing these tiny changes. Obviously, if the right and left thirds have different brightness values in the original, then these difference may not be discernable.

 

Auto Levels on left. Auto Contrast on right.

 

 

Exercise 9: (save as VC100_Week7_Exercise9.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will use the Auto Color command to remove colorcasts in an image. A colorcast is a color that has contaminated other colors in an image. These can be caused from a variety of reasons though usually the color and condition of the light source. You will need to carefully choose an image that has a colorcast. Interior photography or portrait photography is often the best. Auto Color is an adjustment that will work on a large variety of images. If Auto Color doesn't work for you then using the Curves adjustment is the next best option.

 

You will provide a before and after image side-by-side so you will need to double one of the canvas dimensions and duplicate the image so you can see a before and after (as shown below). If you are putting the images side-by-side put the original on the left. If you are stacking the images on top of each other then put the original on the top. NOTE: In close-up portrait photography Auto Color may blow out some highlights.

 

While you might say this decreased the quality of the image, the excessive reds have been removed from the shadows, midtones and highlights.

 

Exercise 10: (save as VC100_Week7_Exercise10.jpg)

 

In this exercise you will use the Hue/Saturation adjustment to tint (add color to) a desaturated image. Find a quality black and white photo or desaturate a color image. Find some part of the image that you can isolate via a selection technique and tint in an interesting way (as seen below). When you apply the Hue/Saturation adjustment, be sure to click on the Colorize checkbox. The "Hue" slider allows you to select the color you want to tint with, the "Saturation" slider allows you to control the intensity of the hue you have selected (far right is full intensity) and the "Lightness" slider introduces black (left) and white (right) into the hue.

 

I used a combination of Select > Color Range and the Magic Wand tool to select/remove the shadowed regions.

 

 

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10