🖥️Digital Media Art Unit 3 – Raster Graphics with Adobe Photoshop

What's the Deal with Raster Graphics?

• Raster graphics are digital images composed of a grid of pixels
• Each pixel in a raster image contains specific color information
• Raster images are resolution-dependent and lose quality when scaled up
  • Enlarging raster images results in visible pixelation and loss of detail
• Common raster file formats include JPEG, PNG, GIF, and TIFF
  • JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a lossy compression format ideal for photographs
  • PNG (Portable Network Graphics) supports transparency and is suitable for web graphics
• Raster graphics are best suited for complex, photorealistic images with gradients and color variations
• Raster images are widely used in digital photography, photo editing, and web design

Getting Started with Photoshop

• Photoshop is a powerful raster graphics editor developed by Adobe
• The Photoshop interface consists of various panels, toolbars, and menus
  • The Tools panel contains essential tools for selecting, drawing, and editing
  • The Layers panel allows you to organize and manage different elements of your image
• Creating a new document in Photoshop requires setting the dimensions, resolution, and color mode
  • Resolution is measured in pixels per inch (PPI) and determines the level of detail in the image
• Photoshop supports multiple file formats for opening and saving images
• Navigating the canvas is done using the Hand tool or by zooming in and out
• The History panel records actions performed on the image, allowing for easy undoing and redoing of steps

Essential Tools and Features

• The Move tool allows you to select and reposition layers or selections within the canvas
• Selection tools, such as the Marquee, Lasso, and Magic Wand, enable precise selection of image areas
  • The Marquee tools create rectangular or elliptical selections
  • The Lasso tools allow freehand, polygonal, or magnetic selections
• The Crop tool is used to remove unwanted areas and change the composition of an image
• Brush and Eraser tools are used for painting, drawing, and erasing pixels
  • Brushes have various settings, including size, hardness, and opacity, to control their appearance and behavior
• The Clone Stamp tool allows you to duplicate or remove elements by sampling and painting from one area to another
• The Healing Brush and Spot Healing Brush tools are used for retouching and removing blemishes or imperfections

Working with Layers and Masks

• Layers are a fundamental concept in Photoshop, allowing you to work on individual elements separately
• Each layer can contain different parts of an image, such as text, shapes, or adjustments
• Layers can be reordered, grouped, and blended using various blending modes
  • Blending modes determine how the pixels of a layer interact with the layers below it (Multiply, Screen, Overlay)
• Layer masks are used to selectively hide or reveal parts of a layer
  • Black areas on a layer mask conceal the corresponding parts of the layer, while white areas reveal them
• Clipping masks are used to constrain the visibility of a layer to the content of the layer below it
• Adjustment layers apply color and tonal adjustments to the layers below them without permanently modifying the pixels

Color Theory and Image Adjustments

• Understanding color theory is essential for effective image editing and manipulation
• The color wheel represents the relationships between primary, secondary, and tertiary colors
  • Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel and create high contrast when used together
• Hue, saturation, and brightness are key components of color
  • Hue refers to the pure color, saturation is the intensity of the color, and brightness is the lightness or darkness of the color
• Photoshop provides various tools and adjustments for modifying color and tonality
  • The Hue/Saturation adjustment allows you to change the hue, saturation, and lightness of specific color ranges
  • The Levels and Curves adjustments are used to modify the tonal range and contrast of an image
• Color balance can be adjusted using the Color Balance adjustment layer
• The Vibrance and Saturation adjustments are used to enhance or subdue the intensity of colors in an image

Filters and Effects

• Photoshop offers a wide range of filters and effects to enhance or transform images
• Filters are found under the Filter menu and are applied directly to the pixels of a layer
  • Blur filters (Gaussian Blur, Motion Blur) soften the image by reducing detail and creating a sense of movement
  • Sharpen filters (Unsharp Mask, Smart Sharpen) increase the contrast along edges to create a clearer, more defined image
• The Filter Gallery provides a collection of creative filters, such as Artistic, Brush Strokes, and Texture filters
• Smart Filters are applied as a separate layer, allowing for non-destructive editing and easy adjustment
• Layer styles are effects that can be applied to individual layers, such as Drop Shadow, Bevel and Emboss, and Gradient Overlay
  • Layer styles can be customized and saved as presets for future use
• The Liquify filter is a powerful tool for distorting and reshaping specific areas of an image

Retouching and Photo Manipulation

• Retouching involves enhancing or correcting imperfections in an image
• The Spot Healing Brush and Healing Brush tools are used to remove blemishes, dust spots, or unwanted elements
  • The Spot Healing Brush automatically samples the surrounding area to seamlessly blend the retouched region
• The Patch tool allows you to select an area and replace it with pixels from another part of the image
• The Content-Aware Fill feature intelligently fills a selected area with content that matches the surrounding pixels
• Photo manipulation involves combining multiple images or elements to create a new, unique composition
  • Selections and masks are essential for isolating and combining different parts of images
• The Pen tool is used to create precise paths and selections for complex manipulations
• The Transform tools (Scale, Rotate, Skew) allow you to resize, rotate, and distort layers or selections

Exporting and File Management

• Exporting images from Photoshop involves saving them in the appropriate file format for their intended use
  • JPEG is commonly used for photographs and images with many colors
  • PNG is suitable for graphics with transparency or fewer colors
• The Save for Web feature optimizes images for online use by balancing quality and file size
• Photoshop supports exporting images with specific color profiles (sRGB, Adobe RGB) for consistent color reproduction across devices
• Organizing and managing Photoshop files is crucial for efficient workflow
  • Using descriptive names and folders helps in locating and identifying files easily
• Photoshop's built-in file management features, such as Adobe Bridge, provide a centralized hub for browsing, organizing, and accessing files
• Regularly saving and backing up Photoshop files prevents data loss and allows for version control
  • Incremental saving (File > Save As) creates new versions of the file while preserving the original