Photoshop Class at AGG
Photoshop for the Stained Glass Artist with J. Kenneth Leap
Fri, July 22, 2011. 9am-11am
DESCRIPTION: This class will cover what you need to know about Photoshop and how to use it. Learn to resize, crop & correct photographs for email, website & print; process images for screen printing and photo sandblast applications and use Photoshop to build and visualize windows for better presentations. What can Photoshop do for you? What are you missing out on?
I recommend NAPP - The National Association of Photoshop Professionals. They have a great magazine, online video tutorial, webinars, freebies and all kinds of great stuff. And if you join (or even visit their website) via this link I think I actually get some kind of points so please use it if you think NAPP will benefit you! There are lots of ways to get there. You can click the image above or the link below or copy & paste it into your browser and GO!
Here’s what we covered…
The Basics
What is Photoshop?
I could reinvent the wheel or you could look at these websites:
Getting images into Photoshop
Scanning
Digital Camera
Take good Photos
Web Based Stock Photos – hint: Google “royalty free images”
Istockphoto, shutterstock, fotolia
Q: I want to edit photos of my work to send to people and to enter design competitions
A: Resize, crop & correct photographs for email, website & print
Resize for email – Ask yourself how will they use it?
In your email program you can Paste or Attach (“paste” will change the file type, typically from .jpeg to .png. Use “attach” and look for a dialogue box for control of image resize options)
Warning: attachments may be deleted or bounced. When sending unsolicited images it may be better to paste them into your body text and mention that Hi-rez files are available.
Resize options: small, medium, large, no resize
Small = icons, thumbnails, handheld device screens
Medium = Blog images, Face book
Large = Screen presentations like PowerPoint
No resize = send original size Photo Books, magazines or print services Images too big to attach? Try “Drop Box”, Cloud or FTP (Goggle them)
Use Photoshop to correct Photos
Use the crop tool with the perspective box checked to
Correct Perspective. Drag corners to points in the image you know to be square – like the window frame. You may need to rescale the image if the results are too narrow or wide.
Draw a perfect circular “Shape” as a guide when resizing medallion windows or figures with halos.
Correct Barrel Distortion caused by the lens curvature using the commands Filter/Distort/Spherize.
Experiment with a small negative number (-8 to -2 range).
Photoshop CS5 can read the metadata of a DSLR camera and AUTOMATICALLY correct this using FILTER/LENS CORRECTION
Q: How do I add neat arrows to type blocks, to point out things within the picture?
A: Use Photoshop Shapes. (Shapes are vector based and resize limitlessly).
Google: shape tool
Some arrows are included in Photoshop’s default shapes. You can find more arrows as “custom” shapes on the web.
Google: arrow Photoshop shape
You can also add an arrow heads to shapes made with the line tool.
Q: How do I select one specific color in an image and change it to another.
A:
Select/color range then
Adjust/Hue Saturation (review information about non-destructive editing) or add a new layer/set blending mode to COLOR/paint on layer
Q: I can’t figure out how to use …masks
A. Masks are great for non-destructive editing. Masks only work on layers so make the image into a layer. Apply a mask, erase with the eraser tool and the information is hidden, retrieve it by reversing the color of the eraser tool or painting back into the mask with a white brush.
Q: How do I color a line drawing?
A: There are many ways to do this. Here’s one approach: scan drawing; open in Photoshop (it will be the background layer by default). Add a new layer, set layer property to multiply; select brush; select color. Paint on layer – add new layer for each color and you can easily change the color with adjustment/hue saturation
Q: How do I process images for screen printing and photo sandblast applications
A: This is a class unto itself but here’s what we covered:
Convert image to Grayscale For line art Adjust/Threshold to the desired effect. Some FILTERS (like cut out or graphic pen) also create interesting effects but remember you must have ONLY black or white no grays at all.
For continuous tone photographs convert to Grayscale then Adjust brightness/contrast so there are no “blow-outs” or “fill-ins”. There should be some gray in both the whitest white and the blackest black. Shoot for a tonal range of 10% to 90% rather than 0% to 100%.
Use IMAGE/MODE/BITMAP/HALFTONE commands to create a halftone screen Set the lines per inch based on the screen mesh or the detail of the sandblast film. Photo sandblast cannot handle more than 65 LPI I typically use 25 LPI or 12 LPI if I want to actually carve into the glass. 65LPI only allows you to lightly frost the surface.
Set the angle based on the screen mesh (this is not important with photo silkscreen)
Bitmap images do not display accurately on the screen after conversion. You must print them out to evaluate the results.
Another option is to convert to GRAYSCALE then use the FILTER/PIXILATE/COLOR HALFTONE command. This will give you a different effect of black dots than the bitmap route.
Other things I would have covered if I had the time:
Build and visualize windows for better presentations Selecting parts of an image
Removing a Color Cast
Copying
Masking
Combining
Pasting
Organizing layers
Adjustments
Blending Modes
Filters
Styles
Drawing in Photoshop from Scratch
Brushes and brush dynamics
Learn how to make a custom brush. Learn how to save and load a custom brush. Google “custom brushes” for brushes you can download, load and use. I save these in a folder called “My Photoshop Customs”
My Photoshop Customs = A folder where I keep custom brushes, shapes, actions and other things you can search for on the web, download then install into Photoshop
Learn these terms:
Vectors/Bitmaps
Non destructive
Global change
How to Learn Photoshop
Books
Online Tutorials
Online Videos
NAPP
Kelby Training
Lyndia.Com
Vimeo
WEBLINKS/RESOURCES
Photography in General:
How to photograph stained glass:
PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS:
SPECIFICALLY STAINED GLASS but not what you think:
A photo-to-woodcut technique you could adapt for Screen Printing or Photoetching:
Saved my Life once but I can’t explain how:
For VIDEO Learners:
Other Video Tutorials:
PAY to LEARN (via subscription) always some free stuff here as well:
OTHER RESOURCES:
When you’d just rather pay someone else to do it for you:
