Photoshop Tools and Features User Log

The purpose of this log is for you to record what tools and features you used in the creation of your digital graphics. You
should try to use as many as possible and you must record how, why and when you used them. You do not need to record
repeated actions but each single new action should be recorded. An example of this would be setting up a new Photoshop
file/image which would cover the ranges; Image Settings (all) and part of Menus (some of). You only need to do this
once. Remember that where the e.g. appears in a range, as many of the items should be covered as possible but not all of
them; your tutor will guide you here. Where possible you should also provide a screen dump to illustrate the action (see
sample image below).

Tools and features

Menus:

Open;

How, why and when used.

Clicking file above the menu bar in

Photoshop then on the drop down menu,
click Open. This shows which image you
would like to load either from a different
folder or areas. I used every time I needed
to open an item in Photoshop

save;

You can save by holding CTRL key

and pressing S at the same time or save
as to find the correct folder destination
on where you would like to save in. I
used this when I was exiting Photoshop
and needed to save my work

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

Screen dump

edit;

The edit drops down menu enables you to

adjust the image depending on which
option is used. The options I have used
are:
Stroke this makes the drawn lines
smoother by adjusting the opacity,
thickness, alternate colour, etc.

Free transform/transform This allows

you to select the image on how you want
to
rotate/reverse/stretch/etc.
Fill This tool allows you to choose a
part of an image and you can fill the in a
colour of the area selected.

Image settings:

size;

Resolution;

width;
height;
2

You can adjust the image of the size via

width and height. Once you pressed
OK, the image will display the size
according to what you chose. You can
also change the measurement you prefer
such as pixels, inches, picas, column, etc.
The resolution is how high quality you
want the image to be.
This will change how wide of the image
you want it to be and the length of the
image according to the size you type.
Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

colour mode;

background;

transparency;

The colour mode allows you to change

from bitmap, grayscale, CMYK colour
and lab colour. This is convenient if you
prefer to choose a different colour mode
for the file such as grayscale, this makes
the image black and white only and any
other colours used will be automatically
become black and white.
This is where you can change the
background either white, transparent or
using your own personalised background
colour.
Upon creating a new image, you have the
choice to select the background content.
By making the image transparent, this
means that whenever you create a text
and place it on a website, it will show up
with no white background.
When creating a new image file, you can
give a name for that image. This is so that
once you save the image

file name
Drawing tools:

tool options;
brush;

pencil;

fill;

you do not need to rename the file again.

The brush is a primary tool to draw on

Photoshop. The brush tool size can be
adjusted as well as the opacity from
100% to 0% as well as the flow of the
line. This is used when you want to create
vector lines using the pen tool. This
creates a path according to the brush
settings.
The pencil is used to draw pixel lines.
This colours in one pixel block which is
excellent for pixel art but can also be time
consuming.
The paint bucket tool on the left hand
side of the tool bar allows you to fill the
entire image of the colour youve
selected rather than painting each section.
This is much quicker.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS


text;

line;

shape;

The text tool allows you to add words by

typing what you want on the image. You
can change the font and the colour as
well. This can then be rasterised which
can then be edited in advanced.
The line tool lets you create a straight line
without great difficulty and allows you to
get a smooth line without a heavy
pixelated effect.
The shape tool allows you to choose from:

Rectangle, Ellipses, Rounded

Rectangle, Polygon, line or your own
custom shape tool. This creates special
shapes very easily without having to use
pen-tool to plot anchor points for a certain
desired shape.

You can find zoom on the side tool bar

zoom; by selecting the magnifying glass. This
enables the user to zoom into the picture
if they desire to retouch photos or to edit
minor errors.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

shape, you then join the last magnetic

strip onto the end of the shape. This joins
all of the shape together and is now
selected.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

Transform, e.g.
scale, rotate, skew,
flip; cut; copy;
paste; crop; trim;
erase; undo; fill

Advanced tools:

Effects, e.g. layer

effects, filters,
channels; image
adjustments,

The transform tool can be found on the

top menu via edit > transform. This
allows you to rotate, skew, scale, warp,
etc. of the image. You can also choose to
select free Transform which allows you
to scale the image and rotate at the same
time. By selecting a certain layer within
the image, you can also transform the
selected layer without selecting other
layers.

The types of effects I have used are:

Outer Glow This gives the image a
faded light surrounding which is quite
nice looking. You can also change the
outer glow to a more intense, precise so
that its only a thick outline around the
image.
Bevel and Emboss Bevel and Emboss
creates text and images a 3D effect as
well as customising how soft you want
the 3Dness to be or alternatively how
intense and pronounce it shows.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS

Image
adjustments, e.g.
brightness and
contrast, hue and
saturation, colour
balance, gradients,
transparency,
invert; masks;

Paths, e.g. vector

paths, converting
text to paths;
image slicing.

You can change the brightness and

contrast by going on the top menu
bar selecting image > adjustments >
brightness/contrast. This allows you
to set the brightness and contrast to
the picture according to what you
want which makes the image colours
pop out or by decreasing the
brightness an d contrast to dark
tones.
Vector paths Vector paths are
created by using the pen tool where
you click on a blank space to plot an
anchor point. Then you connect the
anchor points together to form a
complete shape then according to
the brush size adjusted e.g. 3 px with
100 % hardness, you then right click >
stroke path > paint brush to create a
smooth line over the shape. This is
best used when cre ating smooth
curves and lines without hassle doing
it hands -free.
Text to Path You can also create
custom text style by using the pen
tool to create certain curves and then
by clicking the pen tool to add text to
the path . This can also cause the text
t o warp in different ways such as: arc,
flag, fish, inflate, squeeze, etc. This is
used to give text a more exotic look
than a plain standard straight text.
Image Slicing Image slicing in
Photoshop is very handy when it
comes to making a full layout This
tool slices a whole image into parts.
Once the image is sliced into parts
specifically, you can then save it for
web & devices. From there on, you
can save it as HTML and Images
which the sliced images are then
coded specifically so that you when
you load the image into
Dreamweaver, the coding also loads
all intact when viewing the image via
Dreamweaver. This allows you to
customise.

Photoshop Check list 2012 SJS