Photoshop Tutorial Request Thread

daedal · Aug 8, 2005, 05:38 PM

Got a Photoshop question?
Need a tutorial, or just a hand with something? Post here and we'll try to find you a tutorial or write one for you.
When submitting a request, please be precise and explain in detail what you are hoping to achieve. If you are inquiring about an image you have seen or a special effect, please post a few examples. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a PM.

Why was my post deleted?
Posts which have been answered to will be quoted on the reply and then removed in order to keep this thread clean and straight-forward.

================================================== =====

Using the Pen Tool
Photoshop’s Pen tool… what a riddle-stricken tool it is. That is, until you actually get around to use it. Believe it or not, the Pen tool’s operation is actually very simple but requires a good amount of practice to get its feel. My technique differs from most of the other tutorials out there but be fore-warned, it is a bit longer to use but will usually wield better and cleaner results for beginners. This tutorial will you how to create basic paths and how to shape them, as well as creating, adding and deleting anchor points to create your perfect path.

We’ll start off with a clean canvas so head into File/New and create a new 500x500 pixel canvas. You can leave the DPI at its default setting of 72. If you’ve changed the background color, I suggest you set it to white as it will make following this tutorial a bit easier.

Create a new layer and head into the “Paths” tab and click on “Create a new path”. Paths are essentially outlines that we will be creating using the Pen tool. The difference between a path and marquee is that paths can be edited point-by-point after they have been finalized and are also in vector format so they can be stertched out without loss of it's original form, but we’ll come back on that later on.

Click on the Pen Tool to select it and in the options bar on top, select the “Paths” button. Doing so will prevent the tool from filing the empty area while we work. For the sake of this write-up, we’ll start off by making an easy shape… let’s say a heart. Now click once in the middle of your canvas which should start a new path. Now click elsewhere on the canvas and note how the two points form a line from one point to the other. Using this basic function, create a rough outline of your heart using as many points as you like but remember: more points mean more work later on so try to keep it them at a minimum count. When finishing your path, click on the first point to close your path, therefore forming a shape which can be filled. If your path is not properly closed, you will not be able to fill it with color. When clicking on the last point, your cursor should have a "dot" icon next to it, indicating a shape's completion. Once you’re done with your shape, proceed to the next step. If you're not satisfied, you can go back in your history palette and start over.

You should now have a rough, blocky outline of your heart. Don’t worry; it’ll look much better very soon. What we will be doing at this step is examining how to modify paths both for ease and for looks. Select the “Path Selection Tool” (the black point cursor) and click on your path. It should present you with your shape’s outline. Now right-click on the Pen tool and select the “Convert Point Tool” from the pop-up menu. This tool basically allows you to warp paths by dragging their points.

Click on any random point and while holding down the left mouse button, drag your mouse around. Notice how the path bends and warps. This is how we will be creating our smooth outline. This is why it is better to use less points when create a simple shape. We could easily have created the heart with three or four points so let’s go ahead and remove all but three points: top left, top right and bottom points. We’ll do this by right-clicking the “Convert Point Tool” and select the “Delete Anchor Point” tool. With that tool, all that is needed to delete a point is to click on it so go ahead and remove all points except the three I mentioned earlier which should leave you with a basic triangle.

Go ahead and select the “Convert Point Tool” again and drag the bottom point to form a smooth, rounded out bottom as seen on the right. If your point isn’t properly centered on your shape, click near it and hold down the cursor to form a selection around that point. That should select that single point which you can then move using the left and right keys on your keyboard.

Now let’s do the same for both top left and top right corners. Click, hold and drag until you have a rough shape but it seems like we’re missing a point to form the groove in the top so we’ll go ahead and add that. Right-click on the “Convert Point Tool” and select the “Add Anchor Point Tool” and click in the middle of the top path to create a new point. Once that’s done, go and select the “Convert Point Tool” again and shape that new point.

That’s all there is to it. Now I know you’re thinking: “This thing doesn’t even LOOK like a heart!” Don’t discourage, the more you work with the tool, the easier it will get to add, delete the shape points to perfection. Have you noticed the black outlines that appear once you have warped a point? You can use the “Convert Point Tool” to move these around and perfect your shapes. Keep playing around with it until you are satisfied with your shape and proceed to the next step.

Your shape should be complete at this point and you should have a nice looking path. Now you have two options: either filling the shape with a solid color or gradient, or you can stroke the outside of the path to make a border. We’ll be doing both.

Grab the convert point tool and right click on your path. Select “Stroke Path” and select the tool you would like to path to be stroked with. In this case, we will use the Brush and click “Ok”. Now you should have an outline stroke of the path we created so let’s fill it up with some color. Right-click on the path again and select the “Fill path” option. Now on the pull down menu, select the “Color” option which should popup your color picker. Select your preferred color and click “Ok” to apply to fill.

That’s all there is to it, folks.

daedal · Aug 9, 2005, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutusmaximus

Very cool idea, id like to know more about mask's and how exactly they work, and why they are needed. thanks in advance!

Masks and masking basics
Good question. Masks are used to hide away parts of an image, similar to the Eraser tool's function but is much more flexible and also non-permanent. Clicking on the Layer Mask button

will generate a thumbnail window next to your Layer's. Clicking on this thumnail activates masking mode.

Now how your colors have turned to black and white? This is because masking uses shades of grey to set the mask's "strength" when brushing. This means that using a black-colored brush at 100% opacity will mask everything that it is painted on. Using a White brush on the other hand will restore it. This is where Mask's strengths comes in. Because of this black-to-white option, masking allows you to create effects using various gradients with different shades of grays.

I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you have any more or need additional clarification.

daedal · Sep 7, 2005, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

I've got a question for you, Eric. Is there a way to leave something in an image colored and the rest uncolored? For example, is there a way to leave Sindel alone colored and the turn the rest of the image b & w?

http://www.unforgiver.org/drakon/Sindel2.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falstaff

you have to create a layer as a mask right?

Adjustment Layers and Masking
Exactly. There are many ways to achieve that result but I would go for an adjustment mask. You can add such a mask by clicking on:

Layer / New Adjustment Layer / Hue and Saturation

Now place this layer over the one you want to color or remove color from. You can double-click the layer's thumbnail which will bring up the Hue and Saturation panel and let you tweak the colors to your liking. Once that's done, click on the White Square next to the thumbnail's icon. That's the Hue and Saturation layer's layer Mask. Click on it to activate it and using a black-colored tip, brush the area which you do not want affected by the adjustment layer. Brush in White to restore if you've overlapped a bit.

Hope this answers your question, Drakon.

daedal · Sep 7, 2005, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdwhitt

How do I add a video or audio clip to my Photoshop 7.0 website?

You cannot directly import a video or audio clip in Photoshop unless you want a speficic frame from the video. Now if you've exported your website into HTML/SHTML/etc you will need to use various tags or applets depending on the scripting language you are using and your goal. As this question strays away from the purpose of the Photoshop thread, you would be better off inquiring in the Program, Coding and Webdesign section.

Drakon · Sep 14, 2005, 02:32 AM

Got another one. How do you blend an image/render into the background for a sig or anything?

**dj_stick** · Sep 14, 2005, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

Got another one. How do you blend an image/render into the background for a sig or anything?

i would use the layer opacity, or use a mask and include a gradient on the mask, depending on how you mean "blend"

Drakon · Sep 14, 2005, 02:38 AM

By "blend" I mean that the image looks like it was part of the background to begin with. Did that make any sense?

daedal · Sep 14, 2005, 04:14 AM

You mean take a part of Image A and place it on Image B and match it to make it look like it fits in?

Drakon · Sep 14, 2005, 04:19 AM

Yeah, like in some of the sigs Danjufo and BoroVC have made

daedal · Sep 15, 2005, 05:00 PM

Again, it's all done with the magic of layer masking.
It's time-consuming but will by far yield the best results.

daedal · Jan 20, 2006, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drakon

Here Eric, got a question for you. How do you remove any unwanted text and such from an image? For example, how would you remove the text and surrounding borders from this image: http://img415.imageshack.us/img415/3...torhead8eq.jpg

Ouch. Sorry it took me so long, I hadn't noticed your post.

Removing Text and Blending
Removing text can be a simple as painting over it to more complex masking and blending. In the case of the image posted above, what I would do is grab the "Clone Tool" and take a sample from the background. You can do that by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking. This creates a "clone image" of your selection.

Now by left clicking, you will paste that selection. It is best to dab and click multiple times rather than one click and drag motion. To blen it in better, grab the background from multiple sources and then paint to avoid the pattern's repetition. Once that's done, you can use the smudge tool on a low setting to blend the textures together should you need it. Hope this helps you out, Drakon.

sdsportsfanatic · Jan 21, 2006, 10:12 PM

Hi. I'm pretty new to Photoshop and am a big sports fan. I wanted to know how to make a signature with my favorite players. I want to know how to crop the players from the images I find on Google.

Here's some examples of something I'm interested in:

I'd like one with either LaDainian Tomlinson and/or Antonio Gates and/or Shawne Merriman
http://images.google.com/images?q=ladainia...um|large|xlarge

and

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&h...tes&btnG=Search

and

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&h...man&btnG=Search
(Wearing Chargers 56 not Maryland red)

Your service is greatly appreciated and ask if you need any clarification.

daedal · Jan 30, 2006, 11:57 AM

Thread cleaned up. If you have any comments, suggestions or other, please PM me rather than posting in this thread. Thanks.

daedal · Mar 7, 2006, 05:30 PM

After some thought, I decided to unstick this post and let it drift. If you have any Photoshop, Illustrator, etc questions, feel free to post in the Heavenly Visions forum.

Aug 8, 2005, 05:38 PM	#1
daedal Uber Coffee Drinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gatineau, Quebec Posts: 2,250 Rep Power: 0	Photoshop Tutorial Request Thread Got a Photoshop question? Need a tutorial, or just a hand with something? Post here and we'll try to find you a tutorial or write one for you. When submitting a request, please be precise and explain in detail what you are hoping to achieve. If you are inquiring about an image you have seen or a special effect, please post a few examples. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a PM. Why was my post deleted? Posts which have been answered to will be quoted on the reply and then removed in order to keep this thread clean and straight-forward. ================================================== ===== Using the Pen Tool Photoshop’s Pen tool… what a riddle-stricken tool it is. That is, until you actually get around to use it. Believe it or not, the Pen tool’s operation is actually very simple but requires a good amount of practice to get its feel. My technique differs from most of the other tutorials out there but be fore-warned, it is a bit longer to use but will usually wield better and cleaner results for beginners. This tutorial will you how to create basic paths and how to shape them, as well as creating, adding and deleting anchor points to create your perfect path. We’ll start off with a clean canvas so head into File/New and create a new 500x500 pixel canvas. You can leave the DPI at its default setting of 72. If you’ve changed the background color, I suggest you set it to white as it will make following this tutorial a bit easier. Create a new layer and head into the “Paths” tab and click on “Create a new path”. Paths are essentially outlines that we will be creating using the Pen tool. The difference between a path and marquee is that paths can be edited point-by-point after they have been finalized and are also in vector format so they can be stertched out without loss of it's original form, but we’ll come back on that later on. Click on the Pen Tool to select it and in the options bar on top, select the “Paths” button. Doing so will prevent the tool from filing the empty area while we work. For the sake of this write-up, we’ll start off by making an easy shape… let’s say a heart. Now click once in the middle of your canvas which should start a new path. Now click elsewhere on the canvas and note how the two points form a line from one point to the other. Using this basic function, create a rough outline of your heart using as many points as you like but remember: more points mean more work later on so try to keep it them at a minimum count. When finishing your path, click on the first point to close your path, therefore forming a shape which can be filled. If your path is not properly closed, you will not be able to fill it with color. When clicking on the last point, your cursor should have a "dot" icon next to it, indicating a shape's completion. Once you’re done with your shape, proceed to the next step. If you're not satisfied, you can go back in your history palette and start over. You should now have a rough, blocky outline of your heart. Don’t worry; it’ll look much better very soon. What we will be doing at this step is examining how to modify paths both for ease and for looks. Select the “Path Selection Tool” (the black point cursor) and click on your path. It should present you with your shape’s outline. Now right-click on the Pen tool and select the “Convert Point Tool” from the pop-up menu. This tool basically allows you to warp paths by dragging their points. Click on any random point and while holding down the left mouse button, drag your mouse around. Notice how the path bends and warps. This is how we will be creating our smooth outline. This is why it is better to use less points when create a simple shape. We could easily have created the heart with three or four points so let’s go ahead and remove all but three points: top left, top right and bottom points. We’ll do this by right-clicking the “Convert Point Tool” and select the “Delete Anchor Point” tool. With that tool, all that is needed to delete a point is to click on it so go ahead and remove all points except the three I mentioned earlier which should leave you with a basic triangle. Go ahead and select the “Convert Point Tool” again and drag the bottom point to form a smooth, rounded out bottom as seen on the right. If your point isn’t properly centered on your shape, click near it and hold down the cursor to form a selection around that point. That should select that single point which you can then move using the left and right keys on your keyboard. Now let’s do the same for both top left and top right corners. Click, hold and drag until you have a rough shape but it seems like we’re missing a point to form the groove in the top so we’ll go ahead and add that. Right-click on the “Convert Point Tool” and select the “Add Anchor Point Tool” and click in the middle of the top path to create a new point. Once that’s done, go and select the “Convert Point Tool” again and shape that new point. That’s all there is to it. Now I know you’re thinking: “This thing doesn’t even LOOK like a heart!” Don’t discourage, the more you work with the tool, the easier it will get to add, delete the shape points to perfection. Have you noticed the black outlines that appear once you have warped a point? You can use the “Convert Point Tool” to move these around and perfect your shapes. Keep playing around with it until you are satisfied with your shape and proceed to the next step. Your shape should be complete at this point and you should have a nice looking path. Now you have two options: either filling the shape with a solid color or gradient, or you can stroke the outside of the path to make a border. We’ll be doing both. Grab the convert point tool and right click on your path. Select “Stroke Path” and select the tool you would like to path to be stroked with. In this case, we will use the Brush and click “Ok”. Now you should have an outline stroke of the path we created so let’s fill it up with some color. Right-click on the path again and select the “Fill path” option. Now on the pull down menu, select the “Color” option which should popup your color picker. Select your preferred color and click “Ok” to apply to fill. That’s all there is to it, folks. __________________ Last edited by daedal; Jan 30, 2006 at 12:05 PM.

Sep 14, 2005, 04:14 AM	Thread Starter #8
daedal Uber Coffee Drinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gatineau, Quebec Posts: 2,250 Rep Power: 0	You mean take a part of Image A and place it on Image B and match it to make it look like it fits in? __________________

Sep 15, 2005, 05:00 PM	Thread Starter #10
daedal Uber Coffee Drinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gatineau, Quebec Posts: 2,250 Rep Power: 0	Again, it's all done with the magic of layer masking. It's time-consuming but will by far yield the best results. __________________

Jan 21, 2006, 10:12 PM	#12
sdsportsfanatic DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	Sports Signature Hi. I'm pretty new to Photoshop and am a big sports fan. I wanted to know how to make a signature with my favorite players. I want to know how to crop the players from the images I find on Google. Here's some examples of something I'm interested in: I'd like one with either LaDainian Tomlinson and/or Antonio Gates and/or Shawne Merriman http://images.google.com/images?q=ladainia...um\|large\|xlarge and http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&h...tes&btnG=Search and http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&h...man&btnG=Search (Wearing Chargers 56 not Maryland red) Your service is greatly appreciated and ask if you need any clarification.

Jan 30, 2006, 11:57 AM	Thread Starter #13
daedal Uber Coffee Drinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gatineau, Quebec Posts: 2,250 Rep Power: 0	Thread cleaned up. If you have any comments, suggestions or other, please PM me rather than posting in this thread. Thanks. __________________

Sep 14, 2005, 02:32 AM	#5
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Got another one. How do you blend an image/render into the background for a sig or anything?

Sep 14, 2005, 02:38 AM	#7
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	By "blend" I mean that the image looks like it was part of the background to begin with. Did that make any sense?

Sep 14, 2005, 04:19 AM	#9
Drakon DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Floatin'... Posts: 4,957 Rep Power: 0	Yeah, like in some of the sigs Danjufo and BoroVC have made

Mar 7, 2006, 05:30 PM	Thread Starter #14
daedal Uber Coffee Drinker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Gatineau, Quebec Posts: 2,250 Rep Power: 0	After some thought, I decided to unstick this post and let it drift. If you have any Photoshop, Illustrator, etc questions, feel free to post in the Heavenly Visions forum. __________________