Excerpt from Adobe Photoshop CS4
Digital Classroom

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Exploring Photoshop - continued

Adding an adjustment layer to the composition

Adjustment layers are not new to Photoshop. They have been used for several versions as a method for making non-destructive editing changes to layers. In this lesson you find out how to create an adjustment layer using the new Adjustments panel. For more details about adjustment layers, read Lesson 9, “Taking Layers to the Max.”

1 If the Layers panel is not visible, choose Window > Layers.

2 Click on the layer named boy. The default is for an adjustment layer to appear on top of the active layer.

3 Click on the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button () at the bottom of the Layers panel and select Black & White. An adjustment layer is applied, on top of the boy layer, and the image changes to look as though it is a grayscale image.

The Adjustments panel is now be visible. New in Photoshop CS4, you make revisions to the active adjustment layer using this panel. If you do not see the Adjustments panel, choose Window > Adjustments.

Creating a new adjustment layer. All layers beneath are affected.

In the Adjustments panel, you can change the options that are available for the Black & White adjustment. For this part of the lesson, you will just use the Click and Drag adjustment feature.

4 Select the Click and Drag in Image button (). Then position the cursor over the boy’s shirt in the image.

5 Click and drag to the right to see that you are visually adjusting the color interpretation of his red shirt to make it a lighter gray. Photoshop is interpreting and adjusting the tonality in the whole image based on where the you click.

6 Click and drag to the left to create a darker gray. No specific settings are required for this part of the lesson. Experiment by clicking and dragging on various parts of the boy image to change the lights and darks in the grayscale image.

In order to apply the grayscale to only the layer immediately beneath, you can clip the adjustment.

7 Click on the This Adjustment Affects All Layers Below button () at the bottom of the Adjustments panel. The only layer being affected by the Black & White adjustment layer is the boy layer.

Click on the This Adjustment Affects The grayscale applies only to the layer directly underneath it. All Layers Below button.

8 Choose File > Save to save this file, and keep it open for the next part of this lesson.

Adding a text layer

Adding text is the final step before converting this image into a 3D object. In this part of the lesson, you will create text that will be positioned off to the right of the postcard. For this lesson you will simply set the text as instructed, but if you want to discover more possibilities with text, read Lesson 4, “The Basics of Working in Photoshop.”

1 Make sure that the topmost (Black & White) layer is selected; then select the Type tool () and click off to the right of the boy in the image area. The cursor appears.

2 Type Bike, and then press the Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac OS) key and type On!

3 Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac OS) or choose Select > Select All to activate both words. You will now take advantage of some keyboard shortcuts to help speed up the font size and typeface selection.

4 Hold down Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Command+Shift (Mac OS) and then repeatedly press the > (Greater Than) key to make the text incrementally larger. Continue pressing the > key until your text is approximately 36 points. If you are not in favor of using keyboard shortcuts, you may simply type 36 into the Font size text box in the Application bar.

To make text incrementally smaller, you use the < (Less Than) key instead of the > key.

5 Change the leading, or space between the lines of text, by pressing Alt+up arrow (Windows) or Option+up arrow (Mac OS). If you decrease the space too much, you can press Alt+down arrow (Windows) or Option+down arrow (Mac OS) to increase the leading, the vertical space between the lines of type. You do not need any specific settings for this step; simply set the leading to the amount you feel works well.

6 Click and drag to highlight the font name in the Application bar at the top of the image area, and then press the up or down arrow key to change your font selection to the font that is on the list before or after the current font selection. This is an easy visual method to use when selecting a font. No specific font is required; in the example, the Poor Richard font is selected.

7 To change the color of the text to white, click once on the Set the Text Color box in the Application bar. When the Color Picker appears, click on a white (or light) color in the upper-left corner of the color pane. Press OK. The text is now white.

Change the text to 36 points, and then select the font and text color.

8 If necessary, switch to the Move tool () and reposition the text to be centered in the sky area off to the right in the image.

9 Press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Command+S (Mac OS) to save this file. Keep it open for the next part of this lesson.

Making a 3D postcard

You will now convert your flat image into a 3D postcard. You will do this by using the new 3D features and tools that have been added to Photoshop CS4. You will experiment more with the new and improved 3D features in Lesson 13, “Introducing 3D.”

Converting multiple layers into one smart object layer

Because the 3D features work with an individual layer, you will first convert the multiple layers in this image into one smart object layer. A smart object layer can embed multiple layers into one layer. You can re-open the separate layers by double-clicking on the smart object layer in the Layers panel. Find out more about smart objects in Lesson 10, “Getting Smart in Photoshop.”

1 Click once on the bottom (Background) layer, and then hold down the Shift key and click on the topmost layer (Bike On!). All layers are now selected.

2 Click and hold on the panel menu (arrow in the upper-right corner of the Layers panel) and select Convert to Smart Object from the panel drop-down menu. The layers are consolidated into one layer. As a default, the smart object layer takes on the name of the topmost layer.

Select all layers. Convert them to one smart object layer.

Turning your image into a 3D texture

You will now take the smart object layer that you have created and apply it as a texture to a 3D object. In this example you will create a simple 3D postcard.

To avoid clipping off some of the layer, you will expand the canvas. This makes your work area a little larger, and creates some needed space for 3D rotation.

1 Choose Image > Canvas Size; the Canvas Size dialog box appears.

2 Type 125 in the Width text box and then choose percent from the measurement units drop-down menu. Then type 125 in the Height text box, and press OK. An additional 25 percent of transparency appears around the image.

Increase the canvas size. The result.

3 With the smart object Bike On! still selected, choose 3D > New 3D Postcard from Layer. You may not see any change occur at this time.

4 Choose the 3D Rotate tool () from the Tools panel, and then click and drag the image. The image rotates in space, much like an actual postcard might. Experiment with the rotation until you find a satisfactory position; no specific coordinates are required for this.

The completed file.

Congratulations! You have completed the tour of Adobe Photoshop CS4. Read to discover more details about the features you were introduced to in this lesson.

Adobe Photoshop Training Class Locations

AGI offers regularly scheduled and private Photoshop classes at our training centers. Adobe Photoshop Training in or near Boston, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia, Orlando, and London, England. Visit our Adobe Photoshop training class locations page.