Sunday, August 17, 2008

Learning Photoshop - The Fast and Easy Way For Photoshop Dummies

By David Peters


Color Model: When you hear the term color model we are referring to the method from which we define or classify the color we are to work with. Examples of such are RGB, LAB, CMYK, etc. Color Space: A color space is simply a variation of your color model. For instance, within your RGB framework some common variations are, sRGB, Adobe RGB, and so on. Some of these spaces are better for display e.g. sRGB and Wide Gamut RGB while other color spaces are more suited to printing e.g. ColorMatch RGB and Adobe RGB. Now, it is important to note that every device in our workflow utilizes it's own unique color space. Meaning, while your monitor, scanner, and printer will base their color spaces basically on what we can see their actual gamut (range of colors) will differ. This is where we lose our consistency across devices. This is the problem we must attend to.

This is where professional level CMS's and entry level ones differ. At this point with the entry level you will scan in the printed target and the CMS will actually use the before generated scanner profile to correct the scan, so it can the correct your printed target. A professional level CMS will have a separate hardware device designed specifically for reading printed media targets.

Okay, now that we've created all of the profiles, time to implement them. You monitor profile should be getting applied upon startup by your operating system, so let's move on to your scanner. Scan in an image-once again using the exact same settings that were used to create the profile (other than resolution). In Photoshop choose Image Menu>Assign Profile. Then choose Profile: Your Scanner Profile. Having done all of the previous steps in Photoshop correctly, you should now be amazed at how your image colors changes to appear incredibly like the original that you've just scanned in. From here go to Image Menu>Convert to Profile and choose working RGB from the profile selections. This will convert your document to the native RGB working space of Photoshop. When printing you will apply the printer profile by once again choosing File>Print with Preview, select Document as your Source Space (which this time should be your Working RGB space) and in your Print Space choose Profile: Your Printer Profile. Remember once again to disable any color options in your printer driver. Finally, Print!

However, Adobe Photoshop today has gone beyond image editing. Today, the software is labeled as an image manipulation tool. This somehow gives people the impression that Adobe Photoshop actually gives them a greater degree of freedom than other image-editing programs available today. In fact, it actually does. If sight is reality, then Adobe Photoshop can help you create any reality that you want. With Adobe Photoshop, you will be able to create images of other worlds. You will be able to capture the beauty of the universe inside a glass jar. Your creativity will be unleashed. That's how much Adobe Photoshop can change your life. In the world today, one can easily observe the impact that Adobe Photoshop has wrought on culture. Just like Google, Adobe Photoshop is now being used by people as a verb. When a person is said to be photoshopping something, it is always assumed that the person is editing an image of come sort, whether he or she is actually using Adobe Photoshop or not.

If the convenience is hard to find, there are other ways on how you could get a tutorial for using the Photoshop CS. You could decide to have your own pacing, meaning, you could speed up the process or take it slowly. There are many self-help books published and distributed through the bookstores that would tutor you on how to use the Photoshop CS on procedural narrative formats. All you have to do is to absorb and understand by heart the content and instructions contained in such reading materials. If the printed books are not convenient, there are online and downloadable versions. Such e-books, as they are called nowadays, can be accessed online within minutes. They are actually like the book versions, only that they are soft copies and are faster to retrieve and access.

Customize menus and workspaces. Photoshop CS2 lets you highlight commonly used menu items, and set up custom menus and workspaces. Now all the power of Photoshop is (literally) at your command, and can be tailored to your requirements. See what each font looks like before you use it. Finally! Photoshop gets a WYSIWYG font drop-down menu. Now you don't have to keep text highlighted while you cycle through all the fonts until you get to the right one! Manipulate images with Image Warp. Image Warp allows you to bend, peel, and stretch images the same way as type. Now you can put an image on a mug or soda can with ease. See what video graphics will look like, while you're doing them. If you're a video professional like me, you'll know how frustrating it can be: You make a graphic that looks fantastic on a flat computer monitor, but when you import the .psd file into your Avid timeline, and look at it on the TV screen, it's not quite what you had in mind. You then have to go back into Photoshop and make your artwork look "wrong", so it will look right on a video monitor. With Photoshop CS2 you can preview your images on a video monitor directly from the software, and see exactly how they're going to look in your video, even if your editing software is on a different computer.

PhotoshopSecrets for Wacom Tablets & Photoshop: This is a great Photoshop video tutorial if you are a tablet user. Currently, this is probably the most comprehensive, allowing you to learn how to use all the tools and features available with Adobe Photoshop. This tutorial video is authored and taught by Colin Smith and Weston Maggio of Photoshopcafe and Wacom Technology, respectively. Both are experienced trainers so you'll find the lessons well-paced and relevant. This DVD ROM tutorial has more than 120 minutes of 800x600 video. It's easy to navigate and you can click on any lesson you like without any trouble while still controlling the playback. If you prefer to learn on your own, just click on the lesson files and play the video clip of your choice on your own free time.

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