GGeettttiinngg ssttaarrtteeddPhotoshop Elements 2.0 is the little brother of the art and design industry standard AdobePhotoshop. It is a powerful art package which you can use to paint, write text, retouch photosand make images ready for the web. After only a few lessons you will be creating amazingpictures and effects.

Let’s get started!

ZZ Load Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0. You can do this in one of two ways:

ZZ Either double-click the Elements icon

ZZ or click SSttaarrtt at the bottom left of the screen, then click PPrrooggrraammss. When the programspop up, click:

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1TThhee OOppeenniinngg SSccrreeeenn

ZZ Your screen will look like the one below:

Figure 1.1: The Opening Screen

ii MMeennuu bbaarr The Menu bar contains menus organised by topic. The Help option on thismenu is useful for getting extra information on a particular topic.

ii SShhoorrttccuuttss bbaarr Just below the MMeennuu bbaarr at the top of the screen is the SShhoorrttccuuttss bbaarr.This has icons that may be clicked instead of choosing common options from the MMeennuubbaarr.

ii OOppttiioonnss bbaarr This bar changes to give you relevant options for whichever tool you havechosen.

ii PPaalleettttee wweellll This is a great feature that keeps your palettes stored tidily ready to use.When you click a tab, the palette will appear.

ii TToooollbbooxx Down the left side of the screen is the TToooollbbooxx. This is where you will choosethe tools to create or retouch your pictures.

Tip: The Shortcuts bar must be present in order to use the Palette Well. SelectWindow, Shortcuts from the Menu bar to display it if it is not open.

Status bar The Welcome window: check the box at the bottom left to stopit from popping up every time you start the application.

Toolbox

Menu bar Shortcuts bar Active Image Area Palette Well

Hints Palette

RecipesPalette

Options bar

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Basic Tools1TThhee TToooollbbooxx

The TToooollbbooxx holds all the editing, selection and drawing tools.

Figure 1.2

Try clicking the tools; you will notice the OOppttiioonnss bbaarr above the TToooollbbooxx changes to giveoptions for that particular tool.

You must select a tool in order to use it. The currently selected tool will be highlighted. Someof the tools have a small black triangle at the bottom right corner of the icon, showing thatthere are additional tools behind them. You can hold down the left mouse button or right-clickon a tool icon to display the hidden tools. Then click the tool you want to select.

CCrreeaattiinngg aa nneeww iimmaaggeeIf the WWeellccoommee SSccrreeeenn is still showing (the one with the Photoshop sunflower logo) followthese steps to close it.

ZZ First make sure the checkbox at the bottom left of the screen is deselected (click it onceto remove the green tick), so that the Welcome Screen doesn't appear next time youopen Photoshop.

ZZ Click OOKK in the dialogue box that appears.

Marquee Tool

Lasso Tool

Selection Brush Tool

Custom Shape Tool

Paint Bucket Tool

Brush Tool

Eraser Tool

Blur Tool

Sponge Tool

Dodge Tool

Clone Stamp Tool

Hand Tool

Set foreground color

Eyedropper Tool

Zoom Tool

Set background color

Move Tool

Gradient Tool

Type Tool

Crop Tool

Magic Wand Tool

Pencil Tool

Red eye brush Tool

Sharpen Tool

Smudge Tool

Burn Tool

ZZ Click the EExxiitt WWeellccoommee SSccrreeeenn button in the bottom right of the Welcome Screen.

ZZ Choose FFiillee, NNeeww from the MMeennuu bbaarr, or on the SShhoorrttccuuttss bbaarr click the NNeeww icon. TheNNeeww IImmaaggee window will appear showing default settings.

ZZ Give your picture a name: BBrruusshh TTeesstt.

ZZ Set the Width to 11000000 ppiixxeellss, the Height to 775500 ppiixxeellss and the Resolution to 7722ppiixxeellss//iinncchh.

ZZ Set the Contents to WWhhiittee. This is the most suitable colour for the image you are goingto create.

ZZ The MMooddee should be set to RRGGBB CCoolloouurr.

Figure 1.3: New Image settings

ZZ Click OOKK.

Tip: Make sure you have selected pixels and pixels/inch in the drop-down lists.Photoshop may initially assume cm and pixels/cm.

Tip: 72 dpi (dots per inch) is the norm for most computer screens, but if you need to printsomething it may need to be a higher resolution.

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Your screen will look like this:

Figure 1.4: Blank canvas

TThhee BBrruusshh TToooollThe BBrruusshh TTooooll is a painting tool. The width of the brush, the amount and density of the painton the brush, and how it behaves all depend on settings in the OOppttiioonnss bbaarr.

ZZ Select the BBrruusshh TTooooll from the TToooollbbooxx. (Be careful – it is easy to select the SSeelleeccttiioonnBBrruusshh TTooooll by mistake.)

We now need to use the OOppttiioonnss bbaarr to pick colours and other options.

ZZ In the BBrruusshh PPrreesseettss drop-down list (see Figure 1.5) click the down-arrow to displaydefault brushes. Scroll down and choose SSoofftt RRoouunndd 110000 ppiixxeellss.

Tip: If the Options bar is not visible, select Window, Options from the Menu bar.

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Figure 1.5: Choosing a brush

ZZ Further to the right on the OOppttiioonnss bbaarr, you will notice the SSiizzee option has changed tomatch the brush you have chosen. If you want a different brush size, click on the arrowand change the brush size to exactly the size you want.

ZZ The next option is MMooddee – leave this set to NNoorrmmaall.

ZZ Next to that is the OOppaacciittyy option slider. You can use the slider to increase/decreaseopacity or you can simply type in the opacity you want.

ZZ Next, select a colour to paint with by clicking the SSeett FFoorreeggrroouunndd CCoolloorr icon at thebottom of the TToooollbbooxx.

You need to imagine that the foreground colour is the wet paint on your brush and thebackground colour is the colour you would find if you wiped the paint away.

ZZ Click on the foreground colour square and the CCoolloorr PPiicckkeerr will pop up. The central sliderallows you to choose any colour in the colour spectrum: as you slide it, the left-hand boxchanges.

Tip: You can swap foreground and background colours in the two swatches by clickingthe two-headed arrow between them.

Note: Reducing opacity is like adding water to your paintbrush – some of the backgroundshows through.

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Brush Presets: click hereto view brush options

Set Foreground Color Set Background Color

ZZ Choose a bright blue and then left-click in the left box. Anywhere you click will selectthat shade and you can choose to saturate the colour from 0% to 100% and from whiteto black.

ZZ Click OOKK.

Figure 1.6: Choosing a colour

ZZ Now left-click on the white canvas to paint a blue blob.

ZZ Try different brush sizes and brush styles; change the opacity and get used to choosingnew colours to see what happens. Write your name and generally have a play.

Figure 1.7

Tip: All these effects are created by selecting different brushes and either painting orsimply clicking on the canvas with different colours.The more interesting brush shapes are near the bottom of the Brush Presets drop-downlist, so make sure you scroll all the way down!

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The circle will show youwhere you last clickedon the colour picker

Click the slides with the leftmouse button and drag upand down to select a colour.

ZZoooomm OOppttiioonnssThe Title bar says BBrruusshh tteesstt @@ 110000%%((RRGGBB)) which means the canvas is at its best viewablesetting. However, there are times when you need to zoom in or out.

ZZ Click the ZZoooomm TTooooll in the TToooollbbooxx.

ZZ In the OOppttiioonnss bbaarr, select the ZZoooomm IInn option.

ZZ Click on the image and you will zoom in. Keep pressing it and zoom in as far as it willgo.

Figure 1.8

The squares that make up a picture are called ppiixxeellss. When you created this canvas, youspecified that it should be 1000 pixels wide and 750 pixels high.

ZZ Now zoom out, either by using the ZZoooomm OOuutt icon or by clicking the FFiitt oonn SSccrreeeenn buttonin the OOppttiioonnss bbaarr.

ZZ Select FFiillee, CClloossee from the MMeennuu bbaarr – there is no need to save this so click NNoo whenprompted to save.

Tip: Don't worry if your Title bar says a different percentage – this just means you've beenviewing the image at a different size.

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Zoom in

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Basic Tools1AA SSttaarrrryy nniigghhtt

ZZ Make a new canvas 660000 pixels wide and 440000 high, 7722 pixels/inch, RRGGBB with a wwhhiitteebackground, and click OOKK.

A really good tip when working on a picture is to click the MMaaxxiimmiissee icon in the top right ofyour canvas. This gives you a neutral border to paint across and also when you zoom in, itshows you the maximum amount of picture on-screen.

Figure 1.9

ZZ Choose a big soft brush, size 550000 pixels, and set OOppaacciittyy to 5500%%.

ZZ Spray the background very dark blue with a soft blue gradient coming from the bottom;use Figure 1.11 as a guide.

UUnnddooiinngg mmiissttaakkeessIf you don’t like the last stroke you painted, you can undo it by clicking the SStteepp BBaacckkwwaarrddicon.

You can undo a whole lot of strokes using WWiinnddooww, UUnnddoo HHiissttoorryy, or by clicking the UUnnddooHHiissttoorryy tab in the PPaalleettttee WWeellll.

Figure 1.10: The Undo History Palette

Note: If you don't enter a name for the image here, the image will automatically be calledsomething like Untitled-1. Once you save the document under a chosen file name, theimage name will become the file name.

Close will close thecanvas. It will ask ifyou would like to saveyour picture first.

Minimise will putthe canvas ontothe bottom of thescreen.

Maximise will fill the screen with thecanvas and a border. Click this button

again to restore it to its original size.

Click and drag this pointer toundo one or more actions

You cannot undo just action number 3, for example. You must undo every action back to thataction.

You can redo the actions by clicking the SStteepp FFoorrwwaarrdd icon on the SShhoorrttccuuttss bbaarr.

ZZ Undo some or all of the strokes you have made and click the SStteepp FFoorrwwaarrdd icon to bringthem back.

ZZ Now pick a hard-edged brush around 6600 pixels in size and select a wwhhiittee foreground.Change the opacity to 110000%%.

ZZ Spray a moon high up on your canvas.

ZZ Pick another soft brush and set the pixels to 112200, with opacity 1100%%.

ZZ Spray a little glow over the moon.

ZZ Now the fun part! Choose the SSttaarr brush, start with 7700 ppiixxeellss and spray stars of varyingsizes and brightness in your night sky, by clicking on the canvas. Add a glow to some ofthem.

ZZ The finishing touch is to add the trees. Choose the SSccaatttteerreedd MMaappllee LLeeaavveess brush, set theopacity to 7755, pick a blue-black colour and add trees and bushes. Try to give your picturedepth by using small leaves in the distance and large ones in the foreground.

Figure 1.11: A starry night

ZZ That’s it!

Tip: The Star brushes don't look much like stars in the Brush Presets drop-down list.Scroll about two thirds of the way down the list. If you hover the cursor over a brush thename of the brush will appear.

Tip: If your moon looks grey instead of white it is probably because the Opacity is lessthan 100%. Change this in the Options bar if you need to.

Note: You can use the shortcut key combination Ctrl-Z to undo the last action.

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Now we’ll save and close the image:

ZZ On the MMeennuu bbaarr click FFiillee, SSaavvee AAss. In the FFiillee nnaammee box type SSttaarrrryy nniigghhtt and ensurethe format is on the setting PPhhoottoosshhoopp. Use the navigation options at the top of theSSaavvee AAss dialogue box to select where you want the file to be saved.

ZZ Click SSaavvee.

ZZ Close the image by clicking the small cross in the top right of the image window. Becareful to select the cross that belongs to the image, not the one above it which willclose Photoshop.

AA ggrreeyyssccaallee ddrraawwiinnggIn Photoshop there is a huge library of brushes. You can create great-looking artwork in a veryshort time just by using different brushes, colours and opacity. You can try out differentbrushes to create your own greyscale masterpiece similar to Figure 1.12.

Figure 1.12

ZZ Open a new canvas, width 440000, height 220000, mode ggrreeyyssccaallee with a wwhhiittee background.Unless specified otherwise, just leave the resolution as 7722 ppiixxeellss//iinncchh for future images.

ZZ Choose a large brush set to 110000%% opacity and paint the canvas black.

ZZ Change the foreground colour to white.

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ZZ In the BBrruusshh PPrreesseettss drop-down list you can change the DDeeffaauulltt BBrruusshheess list. Click on theDDeeffaauulltt BBrruusshheess menu and choose WWeett MMeeddiiaa BBrruusshheess, which will give a great ‘painterly’effect.

Figure 1.13

ZZ Choose the OOiill MMeeddiiuumm BBrruusshh WWeett EEddggeess 7744 ppxx, and reduce its opacity to 3300 pixels.

ZZ Use different layers of paint to build up foggy mountains and clouds.

ZZ Set your brushes back to the DDeeffaauulltt BBrruusshheess.

ZZ Use the GGrraassss or DDuunnee GGrraassss brush to paint in the grass. Remember to use a larger brushin the foreground. You can click CCttrrll--ZZ to undo anything you don’t like!

Figure 1.14: The Dune Grass brush

ZZ Save your picture as SSttoorrmmyy MMoouunnttaaiinn.

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Click and draghere to resize list

Oil Medium BrushWet Edges 74 px

PPrriinnttiinngg

ZZ From the MMeennuu bbaarr select FFiillee, PPaaggee SSeettuupp.

ZZ Choose your printer’s PPaappeerr SSiizzee and set the OOrriieennttaattiioonn of the picture to LLaannddssccaappee.Click OOKK.

Figure 1.15: The Page Setup dialogue box

Before you print, it is wise to select PPrriinntt PPrreevviieeww so that you know what the printout will looklike.

ZZ From the FFiillee menu select PPrriinntt PPrreevviieeww. The dialogue box appears.

Figure 1.16: The Print Preview dialogue box

ZZ Select SSccaallee ttoo FFiitt MMeeddiiaa.

ZZ Click the PPrriinntt button to print, or just click OOKK to close PPrriinntt PPrreevviieeww without printing.

ZZ Select FFiillee, CClloossee or click the CClloossee icon in the top right hand corner of the canvas toclose the picture. Click YYeess if prompted to save changes.

ZZ Close down PPhhoottoosshhoopp EElleemmeennttss by clicking the CClloossee icon in the top right hand cornerof the window.

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IImmaaggee mmooddeessSo far we have touched on RRGGBB mmooddee and GGrraayyssccaallee mmooddee. There are a few more that youmight come across so here's a quick guide to all of the modes in Photoshop Elements.

RRGGBB mmooddeeThis is the default mode for Photoshop images. RGB uses three colours (also called channels) toreproduce over 16 million colours.

IInnddeexxeedd CCoolloorr mmooddeeThis mode uses up to 256 colours. If you convert an RGB file to an Indexed file, the file size willdecrease but the image quality will also be reduced. Because it has fewer colours, it has toapproximate some of the RGB colours. GIF files use Indexed Color.

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In RGB mode thisimage is 283K

In Indexed Color modethis image is 94K

GGrraayyssccaallee mmooddeeGrayscale uses up to 256 shades of grey. If you scan an image in black and white it willprobably be displayed in Grayscale mode.

BBiittmmaapp mmooddeeBitmap mode assigns one of two colours (black or white) to each pixel in an image. This resultsin very small file sizes but unless your image is black and white it will be severely degraded ifyou save it as a Bitmap.

CChhaannggiinngg iimmaaggee mmooddeessWhenever you convert a file to a worse-quality mode (for example from RRGGBB to IInnddeexxeedd CCoolloorr)you should always save a backup in the original mode. You should also aim to do as muchediting as possible in the better colour mode before converting.

To convert an image to a different mode:

ZZ Select IImmaaggee, MMooddee from the MMeennuu bbaarr, then select a mode from the list. If a mode isgreyed-out in the menu, it means it is not available for the current image.

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In Grayscale mode thisimage is 94K

In Bitmap mode thisimage is 12K