Class 1, October 12

Topics: Overview and class philosophy, flash drives, toolbar layout, palettes, layers, basic selection techniques, basic vocabulary, zooming, grabbing images from the web, resizing, bitmapped vs. vector images

Reset Photoshop defaults: Apple-option-shift on Photoshop launch.

Last hour:

Use
• marquee select
• multiple layers
• type tool
• drop shadow
• Image > Adjustments
• filter(s)
  to make a MAINE "postcard."

Use
• Burning Man 2005 at Flickr
• Burning Man 1
• Burning Man 2
• Burning Man 3
• Burning Man 4
to make a Burning Man postcard. (see Burning Man entry at Wikipedia)

Class 2

Topics: Review, selection (magic wand), resizing, canvas size, transforming, layers (merging)

Project:

Use images from Barry's Clip Art to make a poster, using
• magic wand,
• resizing,
• text tool,
• eye dropper
• canvas size,
• transforming (flip, distort),
• color adjustment, and, perhaps,
• filters, and
• crops and trims as needed

The poster should
• be larger than the landscape it's based on,
• have several animals (or other pasted objects) in it,
• have a band of flat color as a background for the text,
• have at least one thing behind something else,
• have at least two of something that are different in size and/or color

Class 3

Topics: More selections (adding and subtracting), color range, saving selections, enlarging/feathering selections, color adjust, clone tool, healing tools...

Projects:

Before the break
1. Adjust the color for a JCrew sweater stack and Wellesley cable V-neck sweaters. Build your own 3 X 2 sweater collection; the end result might look like this or this)
2. Change colors, move/delete windows/shutters on house elevations.

After the break
1. Add, subtract, move people on a beach
2. Erase someone's tatoo (a final result, courtesy of Kris)

Class 4

Topics: Pixel Night: Resolution & Cameras; B & W "Retouching"

David Pogue

of the New York Times has a bias similar to mine about digital camera resolution. Under pressure (with more information?), he retreats a bit. Interesting.

Two Photomanagers:

iPhoto

Macintosh photo manager. Integrates well with Photoshop.

Picasa

Good Windows clone of iPhoto. Now owned by Google.

Two Web Pages to Check Out:

Top 7 Digital Camera Newbie Mistakes to Avoid

Yep. All good, true, and pretty well explained.

Understanding Digital Camera Resolution

Pretty high-end stuff. Read if you're really interested.

Projects:

1: Camera Show and Tell

2: Investigate and master Image > Image Size... and Save for Web... so that you are comfortable with 1) resolution (see B&H Guide and KodakGallery help page) and 2) jpeg compression issues.

3: Experiment with

• Image > Adjustment > Levels...
• Image > Adjustment > Curves...
• Dodge and Burn Tools, and
• re-touching tools from last week

Class 5

Topics: Resolution/Compression Revisited; Software Order, Adjustment Layers, Filters, Quick Mask

Resolution/Compression: "Screenshots" of a Canon PowerShot A510 to show typical menuing system for adjusting camera resolution and compression.

Projects:

• Practice file: Pokeweed Berries

Class 6

Topics: Tutorial: Chapter 5 (Masks and Channels); "Express yourself"

Projects:

Tutorial

• Adobe Classroom in a Book, Chapter 5 — pdf (control-click to force download) and files for tutorial (files only available from Mt. Ararat machines).

"Express Yourself"

( Sample retouch file. )

Grab the high-resolution picture of yourself (or of me, if you can't stand to look at yourself all night). Crop it into a square. Dupe it so you have a spare.

Then, EXPLORE, using tools you already know (and a couple new ones):
• Take away the wrinkles, crow's feet, liver spots, gray hair (close tool? blur tool?.
• Change your eye color.
• Add a third eye.
• Give yourself a black eye with the Burn tool; get rid of the circles under your eyes with the Dodge tool.
• Use the Liquify tool on the edges of your mouth to create a smile or frown. (Use light brush pressure, less than 20.)
• Extract yourself and then fill the background with clouds (Filter > Render > Clouds)
• Make two versions of yourself, one with two left faces (flip one), one with two right faces.
Then, EXPLORE, using Image > Adjustments >:
• Start first with Variations... to get your eye adjusted to how Photoshop thinks about color.
• Then try your hand at all the adjustments in the top section of the menu.
• Try adjustments with only part of the image selected: your face/your clothes/the background.
Finally, EXPLORE the world of Filters:
• Try Artistic, Brush Strokes, Sketch.
Finally finally, REPLACE YOUR FACE
• With somebody else's...
• (And jump to Google for tutorials and suggestions on retouching faces. I did a search on gaussian blur complexion and learned all sorts of tricks.)

Class 7

Topics: Scanning (see Scantips for more info); working with type; locking transparency, transform (skew, etc.), lighting effects.

Project:

Make a one or two cards or invitations or posters from a scan; use type, layers, hand-created dropshadow.

Sample cards

1. FernCard.pdf, 290k
2. JacobsLadderCard.pdf, 476k
3. Lupin.pdf, 299k
4. RabbitRabbit.pdf, 500k
North Creek Farm -- multi-filtered photo

5. NorthCreekPhoto.jpg, 60k
6. NorthCreekFarmFiltered.jpg, 224k
7. NorthCreekFarmWatercolor.jpg
8. NorthCreekFarmGraphicPen.gif
9. NorthCreekFarmFindEdges.gif
Scans to use...

10. Pine and Red Berry
11. Rosa Rugosa
12. Mushrooms

Stock sources
• Full Spectrum, Bath (Strathmore Cards)
• Paper Center, Portland (odd lots paper)

Class 8

Topics: Colorizing black and white images; choosing file types.

Projects:

• Scanning catch-up class.
• Use multiple filters and layers to create "handmade" image from photo. (See North Creek Farm series from last class.)
• Find a b&w image online to "hand tint." Quick tutorial here. "Two Farms" sample here.

Class 9

Topics: Output filetypes; work with Photoshop tutorials on the web; work on personal projects; explore the web for Photoshop tutorials.

Projects:

Personal projects and/or

Photoshop tutorials (maybe try Planet Photoshop; demo tonight based on "Basic Compositing," near the bottom).

Class 10

Topics: File types; Adobe Classroom in a Book, Chapter 17 (Web Animation); 15 extra hours; mop up.

Projects:

• Adobe Classroom in a Book, Chapter 17 — pdf (control-click to force download, if you want to be able to save the pdf for printing out at home).
• Web tutorials.
• Personal projects.

"Portfolio" tools:

• Lightbox JS
• SimpleViewer
• (other interesting css/web/graphics sites from HGFX account at Delicious)
• (HGFX Wiki)