The source is a transcript from a GFXMentor Photoshop tutorial aimed at beginners. Instructor Imran introduces the course by emphasizing that while it’s for novices, even experienced users might learn something new. He stresses that Photoshop, as a raster-based software, differs significantly from Illustrator, a vector-based program, and shouldn’t be directly compared. The tutorial covers the interface, basic tools like the Move and Marquee tools, selections, layers, foreground and background colors, and essential shortcuts. Imran underscores the importance of understanding resolution and working non-destructively with layers, advising students to take their time and focus on quality over speed.

GFXMentor’s Photoshop for Beginners: A Study Guide

Quiz

Answer the following questions in 2-3 sentences each.

1. According to Imran, what is the primary difference between Photoshop and Illustrator?
2. What does it mean for Photoshop to be a “Raster-based” software?
3. What resolution (pixels per inch) should you typically use when designing for screens in Photoshop, and why?
4. How do Foreground and Background colors work in Photoshop, and what keyboard shortcuts are used to fill a selection with each?
5. Explain what the Marquee tool does and how selections are used in Photoshop.
6. Why is working with layers crucial in Photoshop?
7. What is the purpose of “Feathering” a selection in Photoshop?
8. What is the difference between using the Feather option in the Property bar versus right-clicking on the image with the selection tool?
9. Describe the function of “Select Inverse” and how it is used.
10. What is the keyboard shortcut to Deselect an active area?

Quiz Answer Key

1. Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels and is primarily used for photo editing, while Illustrator is a vector-based software with different functions that should not be directly compared.
2. Being “Raster-based” means Photoshop relies on pixels to create images. The image quality is dependent on the number of pixels, and enlarging the image can lead to pixelation.
3. You should use 72 pixels per inch when designing for screens because most browsers and mobile apps display images in this resolution.
4. Foreground and Background colors are like having two color pencils that you can easily switch between; Alt+Backspace fills with the Foreground color, while Ctrl+Backspace fills with the Background color.
5. The Marquee tool is used to create selections, which define the active area of the canvas. Any edits or effects applied will only affect the selected area.
6. Working with layers in Photoshop allows you to move, transform, and edit elements independently without affecting other parts of the image. This provides flexibility and non-destructive editing.
7. “Feathering” softens the edges of a selection, creating a blurred or faded effect. It is commonly used to blend selections with their surroundings for a more natural look.
8. Feather in the Property Bar is persistent for future selections until you change it. Feather applied by right-clicking is only applied to that specific selection.
9. “Select Inverse” reverses the selection, activating everything outside the current selection and deactivating the area inside; you can fill the now selected area with a color or effect.
10. The keyboard shortcut to deselect an active area is Ctrl+D.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the importance of understanding Raster-based images in Photoshop. How do you avoid problems of poor design and what are best practices to avoid the pitfalls of pixelated images?
2. Explain the concept of non-destructive editing in Photoshop and how the use of layers contributes to this workflow. Provide specific examples.
3. Compare and contrast using the selection tools in Photoshop with the selection methods used in Adobe Illustrator, and how the basic principles can be used to enhance your workflow.
4. Describe a scenario where you might use “Select Inverse” in a photo editing project. Explain the steps you would take and the desired outcome.
5. How do the shortcuts discussed in the source material enhance the speed and quality of Photoshop projects?

Glossary of Key Terms

• Raster-based: An image composed of pixels, where image quality depends on the number of pixels; enlarging a raster image can cause pixelation.
• Pixel: The smallest unit of an image on a screen, a tiny square of color.
• Resolution: The number of pixels per inch (PPI) in an image; higher resolution means more detail.
• Canvas: The work area in Photoshop where you create and edit images.
• Artboard: A feature that creates multiple canvases in the same Photoshop document.
• Layer: A transparent sheet on which you can place elements of your design, allowing for independent editing.
• Foreground Color: The primary color used for painting, filling, and stroking.
• Background Color: The secondary color that can be used for various purposes, like filling a background.
• Selection: An active area of the canvas defined by a selection tool, limiting edits to that specific area.
• Marquee Tool: A selection tool used to create rectangular or elliptical selections.
• Feather: A setting that softens the edges of a selection, creating a blurred or faded effect.
• Select Inverse: A command that reverses the selection, selecting everything outside the current selection.
• Deselect: A command that removes any active selection on the canvas.
• Workspace: The arrangement of panels, toolbars, and windows in the Photoshop interface.
• Zoom Level: The magnification level at which you are viewing an image, expressed as a percentage.
• Shortcuts: Keyboard combinations that provide quick access to commands and tools.
• RGB Color Mode: A color model that uses red, green, and blue to create colors; commonly used for screen display.
• CMYK Color Mode: A color model that uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to create colors; commonly used for printing.

GFXMentor: Photoshop for Beginners – Lesson 1 Summary

Okay, here’s a briefing document summarizing the main themes and important ideas from the provided source “01.pdf,” which appears to be a transcript of a beginner’s Photoshop tutorial by “GFXMentor” Imran:

Briefing Document: GFXMentor Photoshop Beginners Training – Lesson 1

Source: Transcript “01.pdf”

Main Themes:

• Introduction to Photoshop for Beginners: The tutorial aims to provide a foundational understanding of Photoshop for individuals with little to no prior experience. Imran emphasizes that advanced topics will be covered later.
• Photoshop vs. Illustrator: A recurring theme is the comparison between Photoshop and Illustrator, both Adobe products. Imran stresses that they are distinct tools with different functions and should not be directly compared.
• Raster-Based Nature of Photoshop: A core concept is that Photoshop is a raster-based software dependent on pixels. This contrasts with Illustrator’s vector-based nature. The implications of this (especially regarding image size and resolution) are repeatedly emphasized.
• Importance of Layers: Layers are presented as a crucial element for non-destructive editing and manipulating individual elements within an image. Imran strongly advises using new layers for every new element to maintain flexibility.
• Selection Tools and Techniques: The tutorial focuses on the Marquee tools (Rectangular and Elliptical) for making selections. It covers various selection techniques like adding, subtracting, intersecting, and feathering selections.
• Shortcuts vs. Quality: While shortcuts are useful for speeding up workflow, Imran emphasizes that quality of work is more important than speed. He encourages beginners not to be overwhelmed by shortcuts and to focus on understanding the fundamental concepts.

Key Ideas and Facts:

• Raster vs. Vector: Photoshop is a raster-based software, meaning it relies on pixels. “Photoshop is actually a Raster-based software. What’s Raster? It is basically dependent on pixels.” This means image quality can degrade if an image is enlarged without proper initial sizing.
• Photo Editing Focus: Initially, Photoshop was primarily designed for photo editing. “At the start Photoshop was created solely to edit photos here.”
• Interface Similarities & Differences: While the interface may resemble Illustrator due to both being Adobe products, their functions are different. It covers customizing the workspace and resetting it if needed (Window>>Workspace).
• Version: The tutorial uses Adobe Photoshop CC 2018.
• Image Size and Resolution: Unlike Illustrator, setting the correct image size in Photoshop is crucial from the beginning because of its raster nature. “Now, you have to keep in mind that it’s Raster-based software, meaning if we don’t take the right size and later we enlarge it, your artwork will go bad!” For screen design, a resolution of 72 pixels per inch is recommended.
• Color Mode: RGB color mode is the starting point.
• Canvas vs. Artboard: The work area in Photoshop is traditionally called a “canvas,” but the “Artboard” option is now available.
• Zoom Level and 100% View: It’s crucial to check artwork at 100% zoom level to accurately assess sharpness and pixelation. “Whenever you build something you have to check it at 100% then you’ll be aware whether it’s correct, like the edges are present, pixelating or not.”
• Layers are Essential: Working with layers is highly recommended for flexibility and non-destructive editing. “Just like in Illustrator I never restrict on taking new layers every time, now I’ll do because as long as you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately.” Layers are compared to transparent glass sheets.
• Foreground and Background Colors: Photoshop uses foreground and background colors instead of Fill and Stroke in Illustrator.
• Selection Tools:The Marquee tool selects an active area of pixels. “Now, whatever we’ll work, it’ll remain in this selection only.”
• Selection options include New Selection, Add to Selection (Shift), Subtract from Selection (Alt), and Intersect (Alt+Shift).
• Feathering softens the edges of a selection. It can be set in the Property bar or via right-click -> Feather.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection.
• Deselect (Ctrl+D) removes the selection.
• Filling Selections: Alt+Backspace fills with the foreground color, and Ctrl+Backspace fills with the background color.
• Undo and History: Ctrl+Z undoes the last action, while Ctrl+Alt+Z steps back through the history.
• Image Source: Unsplash (unsplash.com) is recommended for free stock images.
• Importing Images: Dragging an image into an existing Photoshop file adds it to that file. Dragging it onto the Menu bar opens it in a new file.

Quotes:

• “Please don’t compare them, I’ve told the same back when I started Illustrator training. Even today I repeat, you really can’t compare them. Because both have different functions for different works.” (Regarding Photoshop and Illustrator)
• “So layers are a great ‘friend’, please form a good ‘friendship’ with them, just keep in mind that whenever you build new things you’re taking a new layer too, it’s beneficial for you solely.” (Emphasis on Layers)
• “Bro don’t do that! Observe at 100% because wherever used, it’d remain at that size level. PNG and JPEG- these are Raster images, their sole purpose is to be seen at 100% size level.” (Checking Image Quality)

Overall Impression:

The tutorial provides a clear and accessible introduction to Photoshop for absolute beginners. The instructor uses relatable analogies and emphasizes practical tips, but it may get long due to the depth of explanation for each element and tool. The contrast between Photoshop and Illustrator and the importance of understanding raster-based images are key takeaways.

Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Started with Photoshop (Based on GFXMentor’s Beginner Training)

Question 1: What is Photoshop, and what is it primarily used for?

Photoshop is a raster-based software program primarily used for photo editing. Raster-based means it works with images made up of pixels. While its initial focus was on photo editing (like removing blemishes or altering appearances), it has expanded to handle various design tasks.

Question 2: How is Photoshop different from Illustrator, and why shouldn’t I compare them directly?

Photoshop and Illustrator, while both from Adobe, serve different purposes. Photoshop is a raster-based program that manipulates pixels within an image. Illustrator is a vector-based program that creates scalable graphics using mathematical equations. You shouldn’t compare them directly because they are designed for distinct types of work, and comparing them is like comparing apples to oranges.

Question 3: Why is it important to consider the size of the file when starting a new project in Photoshop?

Because Photoshop is raster-based, image quality is dependent on resolution. Unlike vector graphics, raster images don’t scale up well. If you start with an incorrect or too small of size and then enlarge it later, the artwork can become pixelated and lose quality. Therefore, it’s important to start with the correct dimensions for your intended use (print, web, etc.). When simply editing a photo, size isn’t an issue.

Question 4: What resolution should I use when creating images for screens (websites, mobile apps, etc.)?

When designing for screens (computer monitors, websites, mobile apps, TVs), a resolution of 72 pixels per inch (PPI) is generally recommended. This resolution is suitable for digital displays and helps optimize file size for online use.

Question 5: What are layers, and why are they crucial when working in Photoshop?

Layers are like transparent sheets stacked on top of each other. Each layer can contain different elements of your design. They are crucial because they allow you to work on individual elements separately without affecting the rest of the image. This makes it easy to move, edit, and delete elements independently. Working without layers can lead to difficulty in making changes later on.

Question 6: What is the “Selection” tool used for, and how does it affect the work I do in Photoshop?

The Selection tool (like the Marquee tool) defines an active area on your canvas. Any actions you take, such as painting or filling with color, will only affect the selected area. Think of it as isolating a specific portion of your image to work on, leaving the rest untouched.

Question 7: What is “Feathering,” and how can I use it with selections?

Feathering softens the edges of a selection, creating a gradual transition between the selected area and the surrounding pixels. You can apply feathering using the “Feather” option in the Properties bar (for permanent change) or by right-clicking inside the selection and choosing “Feather” (for a one-time effect). It’s useful for creating soft-edged shapes or blending elements together seamlessly. Remember to adjust the pixel amount depending on the size of your image.

Question 8: What are some useful keyboard shortcuts for beginners in Photoshop?

Some helpful shortcuts mentioned are:

• Zoom In: Ctrl + (plus) or Alt + Scroll Up
• Zoom Out: Ctrl – (minus) or Alt + Scroll Down
• Fill with Foreground Color: Alt + Backspace
• Fill with Background Color: Ctrl + Backspace
• Deselect: Ctrl + D
• Undo: Ctrl + Z
• Multiple Undos (History): Ctrl + Alt + Z

Photoshop Basics: Interface, Tools, Layers, and Selections

Here’s an overview of Photoshop basics, according to the provided source:

• Photoshop is a raster-based software dependent on pixels.
• Initially, Photoshop was mainly used for photo editing.
• The version of Photoshop used in the source is Adobe Photoshop CC 2018.
• Similarities exist between Photoshop and Illustrator because both are made by Adobe, but their functions differ.

Key Interface Elements and Tools:

• The toolbar is on the left side, and panels are on the right.
• The interface can be customized by pulling out panels and arranging them as desired.
• If the interface is altered, it can be reset to its previous state by going to Window>>Workspace and doing Reset.
• The Move tool and Marquee tool are fundamental.

Creating a New File:

• When creating a new file, it is important to know the correct size to avoid artwork degradation upon enlargement.
• Presets are available for Photos, Print, Art & Illustrations, Web, and Mobile.
• It is advisable to name files properly for easy searching.
• You can adjust Width, Height, Resolution, Color Mode, and Background Content.
• Resolution for screen design should be 72 pixels per inch.
• It is recommended to keep the color mode on RGB and the bit depth at 8 bits for web and mobile applications.
• “Canvas” is the term used for the work area in Photoshop.
• Using Ctrl+ (plus) and Ctrl- (minus) or Alt and scrolling can zoom in and out.

Working with Layers:

• Layers are a crucial aspect. Working on different layers allows you to move or transform elements separately.
• Taking a new layer can be done by clicking the new layer button.
• Layers can be imagined as transparent glass sheets stacked on top of each other, where each object stays detached, and can be moved or transformed easily.

Selections:

• Selections define the active area of the canvas.
• The Marquee tool is used for making selections.
• The “New Selection” option makes each new selection replace the previous one.
• To add to a selection, press Shift while making the selection.
• To subtract from a selection, press Alt.
• To intersect selections, press Alt+Shift.
• To fill a selection with the foreground color, use Alt+Backspace. To fill with the background color, use Ctrl+Backspace.

Feather Option:

• The Feather option softens the edges of a selection.
• To apply Feather temporarily, right-click with the Selection tool and choose Feather.

Other Selection Options:

• Normal mode allows selections of any size.
• Fixed Ratio mode creates selections with a fixed width-to-height ratio.
• Fixed Size mode creates selections of a fixed pixel size.
• Elliptical Marquee tool is used to make round selections. Press Shift to make a perfect circle.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection, activating the outer part of the canvas instead of the inner part.
• Deselect removes the selection. The shortcut is Ctrl+D.

Image Usage:

• It is important to work on layers to preserve original images and retain the ability to make changes.
• Stock images can be downloaded from websites like unsplash.com for practice.

Raster Image Characteristics in Photoshop

Here’s a discussion of raster images, based on the source:

• Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels.
• With raster images, it’s important to consider image size when creating a new file in Photoshop. If the image size isn’t right and it’s enlarged later, the artwork quality will decrease.
• When working with raster images, it is important to observe the image at 100% zoom to check its sharpness and avoid being concerned about pixelation when zoomed in excessively. PNG and JPEG are raster image formats designed to be viewed at a 100% size level.
• In raster images, you don’t create things individually; instead, you work with an area of pixels.

The source also mentions that a video will be made to properly explain the differences between raster and vector images.

Photoshop Selection Tool: A Comprehensive Guide

Here’s a discussion of the Selection tool in Photoshop, according to the provided source and our conversation history:

• The Selection tool is used to define the active area of the canvas. When a selection is active, any work done will only affect that selected area.
• The Marquee tool is a tool for making selections.
• When using the Selection tool, a property bar appears with various options. These options include:
• New Selection: Each new selection replaces the previous one.
• Add to Selection: Holding Shift while selecting adds to the existing selection.
• Subtract from Selection: Holding Alt subtracts from the existing selection.
• Intersect: Holding Alt+Shift will select the intersecting area.
• Feather softens the edges of a selection. To apply Feather temporarily, right-click with the Selection tool and choose Feather.
• Different modes for the Selection tool:
• Normal: Allows selections of any size.
• Fixed Ratio: Creates selections with a fixed width-to-height ratio.
• Fixed Size: Creates selections of a fixed pixel size.
• The Elliptical Marquee tool is used to make round selections. Press Shift to make a perfect circle.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection, activating the outer part of the canvas instead of the inner part.
• Deselect removes the selection. The shortcut is Ctrl+D.
• To fill a selection with the foreground color, use Alt+Backspace. To fill with the background color, use Ctrl+Backspace.
• As Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels, selections involve working with areas of pixels rather than individual objects.

Photoshop Layers: A Comprehensive Guide

Here’s a discussion of Layers in Photoshop, according to the provided source:

• Layers are a crucial aspect of working in Photoshop. Working on different layers allows you to move or transform elements separately.
• Taking a new layer can be done by clicking the new layer button.
• Layers can be imagined as transparent glass sheets stacked on top of each other, where each object stays detached, and can be moved or transformed easily.
• It is beneficial to take a new layer whenever new things are built. If you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately.
• If all work is done on a single layer, separating elements later becomes impossible.
• When an element is painted directly onto the Background layer (without creating a new layer), it becomes part of that layer and cannot be moved independently.
• If you fill an image without taking a new layer, it becomes a permanent change.
• Working on layers helps preserve original images and retain the ability to make changes.
• To delete a layer, select the layer and drag it to the delete icon or press Backspace (unless a selection is active, in which case only the selected area will be deleted).

Photoshop Image Editing Guide

Here’s a discussion of image editing in Photoshop, according to the provided source and our conversation history:

• Photoshop was initially created solely to edit photos.
• Image editing often involves tasks like removing blemishes.
• When editing images in Photoshop, it’s important to work with layers to preserve the original image and allow for flexible modifications.
• You can download stock images from sites like unsplash.com for practice. These images are free and can be used for commercial projects.
• When incorporating an image into Photoshop, you can either add it to an existing file or open it as a separate file by dragging and dropping it onto the menu bar.
• It’s important to observe the image at 100% zoom to check its actual quality.
• Selections can be used to isolate specific areas of an image for editing. The Feather option can create soft edges. You can also invert a selection so that you are editing everything outside the selection.
• To fill a selection with color, use Alt+Backspace to fill with the foreground color or Ctrl+Backspace to fill with the background color.
• Remember that Photoshop is a raster-based software, and enlarging images excessively can lead to pixelation.
• Always save a backup copy of your original images.

Aasalamu Alaikum, welcome to GFXMentor, I’m your teacher Imran. And from today we’re starting Photoshop beginner’s training. And yes many people are wondering, “Hey, will Sir only teach Beginners, not Advanced?” Of course I will, everything I’ll teach. But at the start, all the students and well-wishers of mine, if they don’t know anything about Photoshop, then it’ll be very helpful for them. But as it’s a beginners training, doesn’t mean those who know already won’t watch at all, of course watch it, because maybe you can learn more new things! Now first of all, before I start let me tell you some things, if you’ve already seen my Illustrator training and know about it, then, at first keep in mind, don’t try to find Illustrator in this software! You’ll become confused. Right? No. 2, some elements might be similar to Illustrator, just because these are made by the same company- Adobe. So the interfaces should be looking similar. Ahh… Some elements that are commonly used, definitely as we progress I’ll tell you gradually. But but but! Please don’t say Illustrator was good, Photoshop isn’t; or Photoshop was good, Illustrator isn’t. Please don’t compare them, I’ve told the same back when I started Illustrator training. Even today I repeat, you really can’t compare them. Because both have different functions for different works. Now what’s Photoshop for, that’s the important point. Photoshop is actually a Raster-based software. What’s Raster? It is basically dependent on pixels. Inshallah I’ll make a short video, explaining the differences properly, about the differences between Raster and Vector, you’ll understand them well. Now, “Photoshop”- from the name itself it seems to be related to photos, so yes! At the start Photoshop was created solely to edit photos here. Now what’s editing? For example we take a picture and it has problems like my face has lots of marks and blemishes, I often use Photoshop to remove them, many people do so. Ahh… When did I start using Photoshop? Well, as everyone knows I have around 17-18 years of experience, but I started Photoshop literally older than that period; I couldn’t do well that much. Yes one hobby I had, like everyone even when I was small, I used to paste my face on Salman Khan’s body, although I’m not a bodybuilder! () But, ahh… These hobbies I had, then I used to think “Yes I know Photoshop well! Fabulous things here, it’s so easy!” But when I understood, I realised that the front-end of Photoshop is nothing, lots of things are hidden in the backend! So definitely, when progressing to the Advanced techniques, we shall see that. Right? So, umm… C’mon let’s start! Okay so first of all, an interface you’re seeing here, must be too familiar, just like in Illustrator. But yes, as I said it’s made by Adobe too so you’ll see the similarities in their interfaces but the works are different. The version I’m using is Adobe Photoshop CC 2018. And… Yes let me share some things, usually when you install newly a welcome screen is shown, my one seems vanished, ran away, angry at me maybe, I dunno where did it go! () But that’s okay no problem, I didn’t need that much anyway, it’d kinda irritate me, my Photoshop would get a bit slow as it’d come at start, then we could proceed. But yes, anyways. This is your Photoshop, okay? In Illustrator you had the toolbars on the left side, similarly it’s here too. On the right side if you notice, some panels are given, time to time you’ll get different panels. Ahh, just in case let me tell you, if anythings vanishes from the interface, or if you make any such changes, remember anytime you can design the interface as you wish. You can pull out any panel and stick with each other. And whatever convenient you feel, you can keep on the front, things you don’t need, you just remove them. No problem. When you’re done setting up your interface, you’ll go to Window>>Workspace and from here you can save new workspace. I won’t be doing it now. However if everything vanishes away, understand? And you be like, “Sir our tools ran away and we did like removing this Property panel or whatever…” if disappears… totally fine! No problem at all, simply go to Window>>Workspace, and do Reset. If I use Essentials; I usually utilize it initially, this is a good starting point; and if you click Reset then all your elements will return back to their previous places. Right? Okay [clearing throat] I usually… okay if you see the toolbar, here two tiny arrows are given, if you click it it’ll show into double columns. If you wish you can keep it in a single column or double. My habit is to keep it in double column usually. Because from the very beginning it’d be double-columned in Photoshop so I’ve become habituated to it, but then it’s okay, you can change it as you wish. CC 2018 has a great addition I noticed, that is previously if we kept the mouse on a tool and wait awhile, a small tool tip would appear, now a small learning point appears instead, it gives you insight on how a tool will work. Ahh so… That’s new for me, this is good, it’s great indeed. And… Yes it’s upto you guys, on how you perceive it. If you want the 2018 version, then please visit Adobe’s site, from there at least try the trial version with your Creative Cloud ID. Okay? Alright [clearing throat], so uhh… What things you need to be careful of? Firstly, in Photoshop, like… okay let me explain first, in Illustrator whenever we’ve taken a new file, I never restricted you on what size to take, never! Now, you have to keep in mind that it’s Raster-based software, meaning if we don’t take the right size and later we enlarge it, your artwork will go bad! So make sure that whatever you create, you should know the size. For example, if you’re making a pamphlet, brochure or website, or even mobile app whatever it is, right? You must know it’s correct size first. And then you gotta take a new file based on that size, only if you design. But if you’re just editing a photo, that’s not an issue, at all. You simply open the photo and work, okay? Yes, if you’re printing something or designing any screen, whichever it is, then you have to know its size correctly. So let’s start, I’m creating a new file here. And… These are some recent sizes that I used previously. It’s coming here, okay? And, if you notice up here, you can save it too, meaning if you use any size repeatedly then better you save it. How to do it, we shall see. Some presets of Photos are given- Print, Art & Illustrations, Web, Mobile; if you come to Mobile, presets of various devices are already provided. Alright? Then, I hope you won’t be having problems over here, but still, if you’re using older versions the presets are given there too, though the interface might look different, but that’s okay, no issues at all. So let’s see what’s given here- first of all the file name is shown, better give names, don’t save it “Untitled”! And… If you don’t name at the start, do it while saving okay? I always try to give names properly so that if I have to search later, with the search function on the harddrive I can find out my files. Right? Next it asks- that is Width, and the Height here. Here the units are given, and you can set the measurements you want to use. So let’s keep it in Pixels, here’s a 1000×1000 ratio is already set. Okay here’s the orientations, what’s that? See from here you won’t understand as the width and height are same, let’s say if I set the height at 500, like this, and currently I’m getting the Landscape option, right? And if I click here, notice the width and height gets swapped. Alright? Coming below, here the Resolution is given. Now what’s this? How many pixels are present in one inch. Now see, usually when we design for screens, a fixed thing to keep in mind that you need to go for 72 pixels per inch. And, here pixels-per-centimetre are also specified, though we don’t use it at all. Ahh… Just keep in mind that, if you design for screen- which screen? Anything! Be it computer screen, for website or mobile app, maybe for TV, always go for 72 resolution, right? If you come below, there’s RGB colour mode, and more different colour modes stated. Yes, in Illustrator only RGB and CMYK was present, but here lots of options are available. No tension! We’ll see all these later. For now just keep it on RGB, okay? After that there’s the Bits, showing how much bits your document should be made so no tension here too, just keep it on 8 bits. And… Why 8 bits? Because, the browsers or mobile apps we have, the images showed there be it PNG, JPEG or whatever- those are mostly displayed in 8 bits. So don’t worry. What’s the job of 16 bits, we’ll see later in a more advanced level. Right? So next, here comes Background Condense. Now if you click here, you see the options “White”, “Black”, “Background Color” but no tension if you see only three, you’ll see more options if you scroll down, there’s “Transparent”, even “Custom”; Remember that in older versions of Photoshop you’d get only “White”, “Background Color” and “Transparent”. Okay? So no need to tense, these aren’t that much important, I usually take “White”, if choose “Transparent” we can do it later, nothing problematic. Alright? Some advanced options are here, which of course, is “advance”. I’m not teaching them now, will see later. And let’s simply click this button, create it. Alright one more thing, I’m keeping it in this orientation- 1000×500 pixels, and as I said, you can save presets here; if I want to save, Oops I changed this! Okay… () I again enter 500. And let’s save this. As I save, and… giving it any name- “Imran”, click Save. Now in the Saved option it (the preset) appears. Whenever I want to take this size, I don’t need to be tensed about it, simply I’ll click here and create. Okay dear? So here comes a 1000×500 pixels canvas. Okay, one word I used- “canvas”; in Illustrator we called this work area “Artboard”, now in here we call it as “canvas”. But interesting thing is, recently even in Photoshop the Artboard option has arrived. So if I go to New file, taking the saved preset, see this, if I click on the “Artboard” check, This will turn into an artboard, okay? And, how to make new artboards, how much in total- all will be found inside the created file. See this, as I click here “Artboard 1” appears, written here, but if I got to the previous file, it’s not written there. That means, there the classic Photoshop type is appearing. If you notice, here comes a Background layer, while on the artboard one it shows nothing but “Artboard 1”, and “Layer 1” is written here. Correct? So what’s the difference between these two? We’ll see in a moment, but for now, just keep in mind that we won’t be taking any artboard in new files. So uhh… Now notice an important issue. Some elements you’ve already seen in Illustrator like Zoom in or out, we usually press Ctrl+ (plus) and Ctrl- (minus), like Ctrl- for Zoom out and Ctrl+ for Zoom in. And… Yes, along with that if you press Alt and scroll up, you can Zoom in, if scroll down then Zoom out, right? Bottom here you can observe the keys I press. It’ll be helpful for you. Right? Alright [clearing throat] Now, in Photoshop I created a new file, what to do with it? Now the most important thing let me share, many times my students ask me, “Sir whatever we make, it gets pixelated if we zoom in and see!” Yes of course it’ll happen! Notice above here, presently the file name is titled “Untitled-1 @77.9% RGB 8 bit”. This 77.9% is your zoom level. Whenever you build something you have to check it at 100% then you’ll be aware whether it’s correct, like the edges are present, pixelating or not. But if you zoom in too much then yes, you’ll see pixelations. So yes remember that always check your Raster image artworks at 100% level, so that whether it’s correctly sharpened or not. If blurry or pixelated at 100% then it’s bad, but otherwise no issues, no tension. If you zoom in and check, it’ll surely look bad because it’s Raster. Just like if I check my face’s skin under the microscope, it’ll look like a horrible mountain to me! Right? Exactly, nobody zooms in too much to have a glance! So, many students get too much anxious that “Sir whatever we make, be it JPEG, PNG- it’s getting too pixelated!” When asking when it happens, they reply “We zoomed in and saw it pixelated.” Bro don’t do that! Observe at 100% because wherever used, it’d remain at that size level. PNG and JPEG- these are Raster images, their sole purpose is to be seen at 100% size level. Right? Alright. So now what’ll we see in Photoshop today? First thing, Some tools I’d like to show, number 1 is this Move tool, second is Marquee tool here. Now what’s this Marquee tool? And Move tool? Ahh… See, to make you understand I’ll give some comparisons with Illustrator, like, comparison not in the context of good or bad, rather what things we’ve seen in there and what’s related to here. Right? So first of all, whatever we used to build in Illustrator we would simply select that by clicking, because each object had a separate path there. In here, you don’t have any vector but only Raster, which means we have an area of pixels here, and here we don’t make things individually, for example if you have a photo, nothing is separated there, it’s a complete painted grid of pixels. Right? Now just like that, notice the Selection tool here, we do it like that, means we haven’t selected one object only but just some pixels, or say, in our whole canvas, this part is currently the active area. Now, whatever we’ll work, it’ll remain in this selection only. Okay dear? Apart from Selection, Move tool is used for moving things, But! Just as I said that in Illustrator I never restricted for which size you should take, now you have to be careful about what size to take particularly. Just like in Illustrator I never restrict on taking new layers every time, now I’ll do because as long as you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately. Right? So first of all, keep in mind the very first important matter, that is Layer. Let me share a small thing immediately- as a Brush tool is given here, and if I pick any colour from here, and make this line with the tool. Now remember, this line I painted just above the Background layer. Now if I try to move it with Move tool, it’ll show some errors. Just forget it, not needed now; Just keep in mind that it’s not moving because it’s not a separate object, I just painted the pixels of this Background layer! It’s like I spray-paint the wall behind me, okay? And if I later want to move it elsewhere, won’t be possible just because I permanently painted it! Similarly moving this won’t be possible at all. Second thing, if you really want to move, what’ll you do? We’ll take a new layer from here; here’s the button for it; and now if I paint here, then yes it can be moved with Move tool! Why?! Because it’s a separate thing now! Same as if I mounted a glass on the wall and paint on it, now I can easily move that glass, right?! Glass, similarly imagine the layer as transparent glass, and… we make separate things on top of each. Every object stays detached from each other, so we can move or transform them easily, and if not wanted, easily can delete it. Right? So layers are a great “friend”, please form a good “friendship” with them, just keep in mind that whenever you build new things you’re taking a new layer too, it’s beneficial for you solely; If you don’t want, don’t take, no issues. The problems will happen solely to you too, that “Oh man, I made all in a single layer, now how to separate them?!” It won’t happen then! Please, don’t ask me such weird questions that “Sir I made everything in single layer”… Suffer, regret, tolerate it! Or just rebuild it again! () So if you wanna escape from such toiling, please take a new layer whenever you create. Right? I’m turning my workspace back to Normal. Okay, not necessary you need to go here for workspace, here’s a small icon given, if clicked here shows “Reset Essentials”, you can do it from here too. If you wish, reset it from there too. So that’s not an issue. Okay. Now if I delete this layer, and let’s see what we gotta learn today. Selection and Move tool. And alongside, here’s this thing. [clearing throat] You’ve seen in Illustrator, one was Fill and one was Stroke. In here it’s a bit different, both are colours- one is Foreground and other’s Background. Now, how do we suppose to understand? Ahh… In plain words, at a time you’re like grabbing two colour pencils in both hands! Whenever you wish you can change the colours, for example simply… Oh you must click single time only, yes in Illustrator it was double, here we click only once; just select any colour, from here I take blue and take red for the background. Now you have two colours, and you can swap it. If you want default, what’ll happen? That… the foreground will be black and the background will be white. Right? So whenever you want you can change the colours from here. What’s their purpose? Wait just a while, I’m gonna explain soon. Okay? The first tool I wanna explain is Selection. Okay what is it? As I said, it’s nothing but the active area of your canvas. So just a while ago as you’ve seen, I painted something with the Brush tool. Like this, I make a line here. And I can paint all over the canvas, wherever I want. Right? But! If I select and delete for now, and… let’s say I make this selection, and now I’m gonna paint with the Brush, it won’t be painting outside, because that’s not the active area. As I said before, Selection is the active area of the canvas. So yes, you can paint it whenever you want, and see it’s being painted in this much area only. So Selection, just remember that you’ve activated some part of the canvas. Right? And whatever you work on, it’ll happen in this area. Understand? That’s what Selection is! Okay, let me share some points related to Selection, just as in Illustrator there was a Property bar above it, it’s present here too. Whatever tools you take, the properties will be shown here. So if we look on Selection, notice there’s a default button pressed here and it’s called “New Selection”. Now what’s the purpose of it? Whenever I make a selection and do another, the previous one will vanish. Everytime I click a new selection will be made, right? If you see the bigger one… Okay these buttons must be very familiar to you, you’ve seen in the Pathfinder class too, it’s the same as it. As the Unite button was present, here’s the “Add to Selection”. That means if I create selection now and do another, both will remain, two or three- as I create selections it’ll add with the previous ones. And in fact if I overlap like this, all the selections will be added together, right?! Just like that, if you come across here and here’s given “Subtract from Selection” It means from the selections some areas will be subtracted. Correct dear? And finally here comes “Intersect”. Now what’ll it do is, the selection you already made and the one you’re making now, the common area between them will be remaining, the rest will vanish. So for example, if you see this selection, I select this area, then only this part of the old selection will stay, the one already made I mean. But you know what? These buttons irritate me too much. Why it’s so problematic? Because, I usually forgot that I kept “Add to Selection” pressed on and when I’m progressing on my workflow speedily, suddenly the selection doesn’t building correctly, if I make another then look it’s getting added with the previous ones. And that’s quite irritating! I feel it too bad, I dunno, maybe you’ll feel the same when you’ll work speedily. So I’ll suggest, don’t use them at all!!! Then what to do else? You simply use shortcuts! What are those? For example, if you made a selection and want to add another, press Shift, and make selections. Interestingly, when I press Shift, the button (Add to Selection) automatically gets pressed. Okay? So yes, now whenever you need to add, just press Shift. And it’ll be adding. Right? Similarly, if you wanna subtract, press Alt. Your selections will get minus. Okay? And if intersecting the selections, then yes you gotta press both buttons! Press Alt+Shift and click, it’ll intersect. So I hope you’ve understood the selection by now, but it’s not over yet! After Selection, just beside there’s another option called Feather. Okay so what’s this? Before that I want to explain something else. Number one, ahh… You have this foreground and background colour, correct? As an example, I made a selection and I want to fill this foreground colour here, so one method is this Gradient tool, which contains Paint Bucket, you take it and click here. But trust me, ahh… See, I’ve been sharing much about shortcuts in Photoshop, and, if you have confusion then no problem, you can use the tools too. But shortcuts make the workflow fast, right? Okay, so the shortcut of this Paintbucket to fill colours, better one I mean, we simply do Alt+Backspace, it fills the Foreground colours. Undo-ing it. Now if I want the Background colour; let’s suppose we have two colours, red in foreground and blue in background, If I do Alt+Backspace the Foreground gets filled, undo, and if I wanna fill with Background colour, then it’s Ctrl+Backspace. Correct? And in fact you can do Ctrl+Delete, similarly Alt+Delete you can do. Right? So remember, in many areas of Photoshop, Delete and Backspace do the same job. Right dear? It’s on your keyboard, right? So as you’ve seen, we can make selections and fill with colours, and to fill as I said, Alt+Backspace for Foreground and Ctrl+Backspace for Background. Keep in mind that if there’s a selection present, it’ll fill inside it. If there’s not, it’ll fill the whole layer. Right? Like this. Okay. Another thing let me share, you have only one option for Undo- Ctrl+Z, if you need more undos, you can do Ctrl+Alt+Z. Keep in mind. Like I made this line, then another, yet another and so on. Now if I press Ctrl+Z, it’ll undo only the last line. If press again, it’ll redo. Correct? But if Ctrl+Alt+Z, we’ll continue undo-ing back. Now remember, Ctrl+Alt+Z is not actually undo, but History. What is this, how to handle it, we’ll see everything later. For now just observe, making a selection and pressing Alt+Backspace, it gets filled. We were actually talking about an option given in Property panel, named Feather. If I increase it, currently at zero pixels, let’s say I give it 50 pixels. [clearing throat] Right? And as I make a selection, notice it becomes quite rounded. Now, not actually round, it gets soft. If I fill with Foreground colour, it gets filled like that. Why? Because we’ve enabled Feather. Now… one thing to remember, in the Property bar if you’ve given Feather, then it’s kinda permanent, until you don’t change the value the next selections will have it! See this. Alright? But if you don’t want it permanent, then simply do this- keep it 0, and, whenever you make selections; see I created, filled it, and took new layer. Correct? I build another selection, and I want the Feather here. So to do this, you right-click via Selection tool obviously, and there on the third option is Feather. Now from here you can determine how much Feather you need to put. So let’s suppose, I give it 30 pixels, press Okay, and as I fill it with Background colour via Ctrl+Backspace, look the Feather has already come! Okay, now the intriguing thing is, the next selection I’ll make, that’ll come out sharp as before. So we don’t have problems, that as we gave Feather it’ll continue further, it’s not like that at all. Just keep in mind that whenever you need Feather, right-click and put that from there. Now, again remember that the right-click I’m doing is from Selection tool itself, correct? And, the options you see here, all belong to Selection tool, okay? If we take any other tools, upon right-clicking different things will be showing up, so make sure you notice which tool you use. See this, as I’m using Brush tool and right-click, you’ll see some Brush options are given. So, make sure you’re in Selection tool and then right-clicking. Correct? From right-click, here we take Feather. So in the current selection, going to Feather I’m giving much less now- 5 pixels. Press Okay, and let’s fill some other colour; here, I take purple, and fill here. See this! If I zoom in and show, then it’s looking quite smooth. Alright? Okay! So see, this one’s Feather is less, that blue one with 50 pixels looks more. I hope you’ve understood till Feather. Ahh… Anyway, notice I made a mistake here, the layer containing green one, I made the purple one there too, now I can’t move them individually and separately. Whenever I move it, these two will move together. So make sure, when you build something, “build” specially, keep it on the next or different layers as a must. Okay dear? Alright, if we need to delete layers, no problem at all, simply come to any layer and drag it here to delete. Second method is simply to press Backspace while remaining on a layer, as you press it the entire layer will be deleted. But only if not made any selections; if yes then only that area will be deleted. But if not, all the layers will be gone. Like this, as I’m pressing Backspace all layers are getting deleted, except the Background one. So the next we see in this tool, is this (dropdown) with options “Normal”, “Fixed Ratio”, “Fixed Size”. Normal is where you can make selections of any size you want, but when keeping on Fixed Ratio, notice by default it’s given 1:1 ratio, that means when I create, it’ll be square-shaped only. Like, it’s a ratio of 1:1, of width and height. If I put 2:1, it’ll become a rectangle. Meaning the width is 2x while the height is 1x. Right? Third option is Fixed Size, it’ll create selection of a fixed size, by default it’s given 64×64 pixels, that means wherever I’ll click or move it it’ll remain as a selection of 64×64 pixels only. I hope you’ve understood it too till now. Anyway, what’s “Selected Mask”, we’ll see later, just forget it for now. In older versions you may see it as “Refine Edge”. Right? So it’s same as that, just more advanced. Now… Coming to Marquee Selection, here the Elliptical Marquee is given. With this you can make round selections. So similarly as in Illustrator we’d make rounds by pressing Shift, it’ll happen here too. Alright? So you can make a round selection just like this, with Shift. And if you wish you can make it oval too. Right? All those things are available here too, right? If I right-click, those same things here, like Feather and Select Inverse. Now what’s this Select Inverse, I’m gonna share. Okay so, the next thing I’ll tell is, like if I make a selection and fill, it’ll be filled inside, but if I right-click and Select Inverse, now it’ll fill the other areas, meaning the outer part of the canvas is active, leaving this inside part. Okay dear? So I hope you’ve understood it too, it wasn’t so tough anyway. Select Inverse, you’ve got it. There’s a third option- Deselect. Now what’ll it do? Removing selection. It has a shortcut too- Ctrl+D. No matter how many selections you make, just press Ctrl+D and it’ll be removed. D for Deselect, right? Ahh… Remember, Illustrator’s Ctrl+D was different, in here too. Understand? Okay, so utilizing all these when we build something, what’ll it be? For example, I wish to use any picture. Let’s go for Unsplash. Keep in mind this great website- unsplash.com. And, you can download stock images from here, these are all free images, you can use them in even your commercial projects. So, it’s quite a fabulous and helpful website, and be sure to visit, https://www.unsplash.com you can use images from here for your practice. So uh, let’s just download some images and see what we can do with it, I’m gonna use this picture, so simply click Download from here, and it’ll be downloaded here. Keep in mind these are quite high-quality images, with much higher resolution, okay? So from Show Folder, dragging this image into Photoshop. Now it’s an important point to think- where to drop it while dragging. If you already have a file opened, and drop the image right here then it’ll add just inside the file. But if you want not to add here but rather in a separate file, I pressed Esc; simply drag again and drop it on the Menu bar this time. So once you do it, another file will be opened. One more thing to remember, the small image you’re seeing, it’s not that small! As I said, always observe at 100% level to check the actual quality of your image. Currently it’s 8.33%, that means it’s a humongous sized image! If I press Ctrl+1 it’ll show at 100% level. See this, it’s the actual size of the image, quite giant it is! So I’m zooming out, and let’s go and take a new layer. And from here I’m making a selection- Elliptical Marquee. Like this. Okay? And right-clicking, I’m giving it a Feather. Now remember, be it 5 or 50 pixels, this Feather won’t work on this image, it’s a much larger image! So I’ll add much more Feather here, so let’s say I add approx. 200 pixels. Correct dear? Press Okay, and right-clicking I choose Select Inverse. Keep in mind, first I make selection, then give Feather and then do Select Inverse. New layer I already took, and now I’m filling it with black colour, meaning as here the default colours coming- Foreground black and Background white, if I press Alt+Backspace, the black colour will be filled here. See this! Ahh… A fairly simple frame, created here. And I hope you all loved it. So not necessary that you fill with black; undo-ing it, now give it white if you wish. See this? And, this kind of things you must’ve seen in many images, so your first photo editing is done. Now, what was the reason behind taking different layer? Just because, if I don’t like it, I can change it anytime or even remove it. Correct? And if you would’ve filled on this layer, which you can, nobody’s stopping you, but you’ll be facing the problem- see, this time I’m giving more Feather, so let’s go for like 400 pixels, remember why I’m giving so much? Because the image is too large, but for smaller images I’ll give less Feather, like 40 or 50 pixels, okay? Alright! Giving the Feather and Select Inverse, and going to a new layer… Sorry (), I mean if I fill it here, notice the problem that’ll occur. It becomes a permanent change, now I can’t move, make it lighter or even delete. Yes I can surely undo, but if you save the file and close, it’ll be permanently changed. So please please please! Always preserve your original images, meaning always keep a backup, and better work on layers, not on original images. You’ll have the freedom to change it anytime and correct it. So again I took a new layer and fill it white. See this! We’ve filled a beautiful shade of white colour here, and it looks fading from the edges. Now yeah, I’m deducing this class of mine is being stretched too long, but trust me, these are minute details which lots of people face problems with, and they can’t understand. By the way the shortcuts I talked about, I’ll be sharing in classes parallelly, you can note it down if you wish. And ahh… Not necessary you get dependent on shortcuts, if you can’t remember, don’t worry! You can change it from menus or options. Just as I shared on Select Inverse, right-clicking and selecting like that, you’ll find the shortcuts too, see if go to Select menu so notice, Select All- Ctrl+A, Deselect- Ctrl+D, Reselect- Shift+Ctrl+D, and Inverse Select, or Select Inverse as we said, Shift+Ctrl+I. All these shortcuts can be seen in this menu too. So sometimes I keep forgetting shortcuts, just don’t be panicked, don’t be anxious, no problem at all! Just keep in mind that with shortcuts the work gets faster. There’s no guarantee that with shortcuts the work will be good! So good work is more important, fast work not that much. Right? So that’s I always say- quality vs quantity. If you produce quantity, not necessary it’ll be good, but if you produce quality, also not necessary it’ll be large in quantity. Always remember, work at a slow pace, no problem, but do it well. So don’t be anxious about shortcuts; many students gets confused that “Sir how we’ll be able to use so many shortcuts?” and etc. Don’t worry! Go slow, no issues. If you don’t recall shortcuts, the options are provided in the menu already. Everything has a second method to be utilized. So go slow, work well, that’s much more important. The things I shared related to Selection tool, it’s still much less, there are more left yet, but I wish to end this class here for now. I hope you’ve understood it all so far. Keep in mind, it’s only for beginners, for those who already know they might’ve not found much similarities, I’m sorry if yall know already! But I have many students who don’t know about Photoshop at all, This was much much more important for those. Ahh… My classes get stretched sometimes, but I always try to make you understand every detail. Some more things still left in Selection, along with the Rectangle and Elliptical Marquee tools, we’ll learn in more detail later. If I share everything today, it’ll be really too much, you won’t be able to practice! And I hope you loved the class, if yes please give it a like, and subscribe to it if you didn’t yet, and one more thing, please share with your friends dude, Photoshop has been started on my channel! Thank you! ()

By Amjad Izhar
Contact: amjad.izhar@gmail.com
https://amjadizhar.blog

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The provided text is a transcript of an online class instructing beginners on how to use layers in Adobe Photoshop. The instructor, Imran, explains the fundamentals of the layers panel, covering topics such as background layers, normal layers, opacity, and fill. The lesson also explores the different types of locks available for layers, including transparent pixels, image pixels, and position locks. Furthermore, the tutorial goes into blending modes, demonstrating how they affect the interaction of layers, specifically discussing dissolve, multiply, screen, overlay, and color modes. Finally, the lesson briefly reviews searching for layers, creating groups, and copying.

Photoshop Layers: A Comprehensive Study Guide

Quiz: Short Answer Questions

1. What is a background layer in Photoshop, and how does it differ from a normal layer?
2. Explain how to convert a background layer into a normal layer.
3. Describe the function of the Opacity and Fill settings in the Layers panel. What are some situations when you would use Opacity and when you would use Fill?
4. What are the three main types of layer locks, and how does each affect your ability to edit a layer?
5. How do you transform a layer in Photoshop, and what key should you press to maintain proportional scaling during transformation?
6. Explain the function of Blending Modes and provide two specific examples of how they can be used creatively.
7. Describe how the “Multiply” blending mode can be used to remove white backgrounds from images.
8. Explain how the “Screen” blending mode can be used to remove black backgrounds from images.
9. Describe how to create a group of layers and explain the benefits of organizing layers into groups.
10. Explain how to find a specific layer by searching by its name in the Layers panel.

Quiz Answer Key

1. A background layer is the initial layer in a new or opened image, often locked and unmovable. A normal layer is unlocked, allowing for modifications like moving, opacity changes, and transformations.
2. To convert a background layer to a normal layer, double-click on the background layer where it is written. A dialog box will appear, allowing you to rename the layer, and upon clicking “OK,” it becomes a normal layer (Layer 0).
3. Opacity controls the overall transparency of the layer, making everything on the layer more or less visible. Fill affects the transparency of the pixels on the layer but doesn’t affect layer styles. Opacity is good for adjusting the overall visibility, while Fill can be useful when working with layer styles to make color or gradients transparent without affecting the effects.
4. The three main types of layer locks are: Lock Transparent Pixels (prevents painting on transparent areas), Lock Image Pixels (prevents any drawing on the layer), and Lock Position (prevents moving the layer).
5. To transform a layer, select it in the Layers panel and press Ctrl+T (Command+T on Mac) to activate the Transform tool. Press the Shift key while scaling to maintain proportional scaling.
6. Blending Modes change how a layer interacts with the layers beneath it, altering the colors and tones. Multiply removes white and darkens the image, useful for placing dark line art over a background. Screen removes black and lightens the image, useful for placing white designs over a background.
7. The “Multiply” blending mode makes white pixels transparent, allowing the content below the layer to show through. This is useful for removing white backgrounds from line art or sketches.
8. The “Screen” blending mode makes black pixels transparent, allowing the content below the layer to show through. This is useful for placing a white design on a dark or colorful background.
9. To create a group, select multiple layers by clicking while holding Shift or Ctrl (Command on Mac) and then press Ctrl+G (Command+G on Mac). Grouping organizes layers, simplifies moving and copying related elements together, and reduces clutter in the Layers panel.
10. In the Layers panel, there is a search bar at the top. Type the name (or part of the name) of the layer you’re looking for into the search bar, and Photoshop will filter the Layers panel to show only the layers that match your search term.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the importance of layers in Photoshop and how they contribute to non-destructive editing. Provide examples of how layers are used to create complex image manipulations and designs.
2. Compare and contrast the different layer blending modes in Photoshop, explaining how they affect the interaction between layers. Illustrate your answer with specific examples of how different blending modes can be used to achieve various effects.
3. Explain the various layer locking options available in Photoshop and how they can be used to protect and control the elements of a design. Provide specific scenarios where each type of lock would be beneficial.
4. Describe the process of importing images into Photoshop as layers and discuss different methods for positioning and arranging layers within a composition.
5. Discuss the concept of layer opacity and fill in Photoshop, highlighting the similarities and differences between these two settings. Explain how they can be used creatively to create subtle effects and enhance visual designs.

Glossary of Key Terms

• Layer: A single level in a Photoshop file that can contain images, text, or effects, allowing for independent editing and manipulation.
• Background Layer: The default, usually locked, layer that is automatically created when a new Photoshop document is opened.
• Normal Layer: An unlocked layer that can be freely moved, edited, and manipulated with all available Photoshop tools.
• Opacity: A setting that controls the transparency of a layer, allowing you to see through it to the layers below.
• Fill: A setting similar to opacity that controls the transparency of the content on a layer but does not affect layer styles.
• Layer Locking: A feature that prevents certain types of edits to a layer, such as moving, painting, or modifying transparent pixels.
• Transform: To change the size, shape, or orientation of a layer using tools like scaling, rotating, and skewing.
• Blending Modes: Options that determine how a layer interacts with the layers below it, affecting color, brightness, and overall appearance.
• Multiply: A blending mode that darkens the image by multiplying the colors of the selected layer with the colors of the layers below.
• Screen: A blending mode that lightens the image by screening the colors of the selected layer with the colors of the layers below.
• Overlay: A blending mode that combines the effects of Multiply and Screen, darkening dark areas and lightening light areas.
• Hue: A blending mode that applies the color (hue) of a layer to the layers below while retaining their luminance and saturation.
• Group: A container that holds multiple layers, allowing you to organize and manipulate them as a single unit.
• Transparent Pixels: Areas of a layer that have no color or opacity, allowing the layers below to show through.
• Artboard: A canvas-like area within a Photoshop document that allows designers to work on multiple layouts or designs in a single file.
• Blending Options: A more comprehensive set of effects you can apply to a layer.

Photoshop Layers: A Beginner’s Guide

Okay, here’s a briefing document summarizing the key themes and ideas from the provided transcript of the Photoshop tutorial:

Briefing Document: Photoshop Layers Tutorial

Source: Excerpts from “01.pdf” (Transcript of a Photoshop Beginner Series Class #3)

Main Theme: Understanding and utilizing the Layers Panel in Adobe Photoshop. The tutorial aims to demystify layers and demonstrate their fundamental functionalities in a practical, hands-on manner.

Key Concepts and Ideas:

1. Background Layer vs. Normal Layers:

• The tutorial starts by explaining the difference between a “Background Layer” (the default layer when opening an image) and a “Normal Layer.”
• The Background Layer is initially locked and restricted, preventing movement or modification without conversion: “Now this background layer is such a layer that you cannot even move it, you cannot do anything. As soon as you drag it, it says convert to normal layer.”
• Converting the Background Layer to a Normal Layer unlocks its potential, allowing for opacity adjustments, transformations, and other manipulations. Double-clicking the background layer allows conversion.
• Normal layers have accessible options like opacity and are not locked by default, unlike the background layer.

1. Layer Manipulation (Opacity, Fill, Ordering):

• Opacity: Adjusting the opacity of a layer makes it more transparent, allowing underlying layers to show through. “In this you have all the features like you can move it to the right and you can lower its opacity from here so what is the opacity obviously it becomes a little transparent.”
• Fill: While similar to opacity in initial appearance, Fill has different applications which will be covered in more detail when layer styles/blending options are discussed later. “well if you look down in this, then you have an option given to fill, the work of fill is something else…if you understand, then it is exactly like opacity, right, so it is your choice, whether you use opacity or fill, both will have the same work, for now”
• Layer Ordering: Layers can be rearranged in the Layers Panel to control which elements appear on top of others in the image. Dragging layers up or down changes their visual priority.
• Importing Images as Layers: Images can be added as new layers through drag-and-drop or copy-pasting (Control+A, Control+C, Control+V). “…apart from drag and drop, you can also do this, if you are not able to drag and drop, then there is no problem, control A means select all, control C means copy and coming here, control V means paste…”

1. Layer Locking Options:

• Photoshop provides various locking options to protect layers from unwanted modifications:
• Lock Transparent Pixels: Prevents painting or editing on transparent areas of the layer. You can only paint on the existing pixels. “see, the paint is not happening here because all the transparent pixels of this layer are locked…if I paint here, it will be done…”
• Lock Image Pixels: Disables all painting or editing directly on the layer’s content. “…locked image pixels, now as I locked this, see, this also got locked, that means now I cannot draw anything on this layer…”
• Lock Position: Prevents the layer from being moved or transformed. “You cannot move this layer, you cannot transform it…I can work on the entire layer but I cannot move this layer.”
• Lock All: Completely locks the layer, disabling all editing and movement. It makes the layer act like the background layer and deactivates any layer-based modifications. “By lock all, it means that this layer of yours has been totally locked and now you can neither move it nor create anything on it.”
• Auto Nesting Lock (Artboards): The tutorial mentions a lock related to artboards (introduced in later versions of Photoshop) that prevents layers from accidentally moving between or nesting within different artboards. This topic is briefly addressed but not explored in depth due to its complexity for beginner users. “Auto nesting into and out of artboards…this lock was not there even in 2015 because there were no artboards in it”

1. Blending Modes:

• Blending modes control how a layer interacts with the layers beneath it, creating various visual effects.
• The tutorial introduces several key blending modes:
• Dissolve: Turns off random pixels based on the opacity set, creating a grainy or textured look. “as I lower the opacity, it will start turning off some random pixels…here random pixels are turning off…”
• Multiply: Removes white colors, leaving only the darker tones of the layer visible. “…if you want the white color to disappear completely and the black color to remain purely here…you just go and delete the image. We have to multiply it…”
• Screen: Removes black colors, leaving only the lighter tones of the layer visible. “…the black will disappear completely and you will be left with white…”
• Overlay: Combines both dark and light colors, making the image darker where the overlaying layer is black and lighter where it is white. “wherever I had black, my image became dark and wherever I had white, my image became bright from there.”
• Color: Applies the hue and saturation of the blending layer to the base layer, while maintaining the luminosity of the base layer. “…your normal layer was on some blue tone…it will give a blue color to the overall layer…you can even do this, paint on a black and white picture and change its mode color, then it becomes color…”
• The instructor emphasizes that experimenting with different blending modes is crucial to understanding their effects, as the results can be unpredictable based on the colors involved. “you cannot predict what result will come with which colour…it is a bit of a matter of trial and error, you can use where you like it…”
• Inverting colors is done by going to Image -> Adjustments -> Invert, or pressing Control + I. This can be useful to convert blacks to whites to apply blending modes effectively.

1. Layer Management (Searching, Grouping):

• The tutorial demonstrates how to search for specific layers by name or type using the search bar at the top of the Layers Panel.
• Layers can be grouped together into folders for better organization. Selecting multiple layers and pressing Control+G creates a group. “you can create a group by selecting all of them together…control-G will group.”
• Groups can be moved, copied, and manipulated as a single unit. “The advantage of this group is that all the layers in it will remain in one place. You can move it or even copy it.”

Target Audience: Beginners learning Photoshop.

Overall Tone: The tutorial is presented in a friendly and approachable manner, with the instructor using simple language and practical examples to illustrate the concepts.

Key Takeaway: The Layers Panel is the cornerstone of Photoshop, and understanding its features is essential for creating complex and well-organized image edits. Experimentation and practice are encouraged to master the various layer options and blending modes.

Photoshop Layers: FAQs and Essential Techniques

Here are 8 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about working with layers in Adobe Photoshop, based on the provided document.

Q1: What is a background layer in Photoshop, and how does it differ from a normal layer?

A background layer is the default layer you see when you create a new image or open an existing one in Photoshop. It’s initially locked, meaning you can’t move it or directly adjust its opacity. To unlock it and gain full editing capabilities, you need to double-click the background layer in the Layers panel. This converts it into a normal layer (Layer 0, by default), unlocking options like opacity control, blending modes, and the ability to move and transform the layer. A normal layer is not locked by default, allowing for immediate modifications.

Q2: How can I add an image to an existing Photoshop file as a new layer?

There are two primary methods:

1. Drag and Drop: Open the image you want to add. Select the “Move” tool. Click and drag the image from its current window to the tab of your target Photoshop file. Wait for the target file’s canvas to display (you’ll see a white border around it) and release the mouse button to drop the image as a new layer.
2. Copy and Paste: Open the image you want to add. Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac) to select the entire image. Press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac) to copy it. Go to your target Photoshop file and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac) to paste the image as a new layer.

Q3: What are the different types of layer locks available in Photoshop, and what does each one do?

Photoshop offers several layer lock options, each restricting different aspects of layer editing:

• Lock Transparent Pixels: This prevents you from painting or modifying any of the transparent areas on the layer. You can only paint on the opaque parts of the layer. You can still move the layer.
• Lock Image Pixels: This prevents you from directly painting or making any pixel-level edits to the layer content. You can still move and transform the layer.
• Lock Position: This prevents you from moving the layer, but you can still make edits to its content (unless other locks are also active).
• Lock All: This completely locks the layer, preventing any changes whatsoever, including moving, editing, or adjusting opacity. It essentially behaves like the original background layer before it’s unlocked.
• Auto Nesting into and out of Artboards (CC 2017+): This lock prevents the automatic movement of layers between different Artboards.

Q4: What’s the difference between “Opacity” and “Fill” in the Layers panel?

Initially, “Opacity” and “Fill” may appear to do the same thing: make a layer more transparent. However, the difference lies in how they affect layer styles and blending options. “Opacity” affects the entire layer, including any layer styles applied to it. “Fill” only affects the layer’s content pixels, leaving any applied layer styles at full opacity. The document states they function similarly until Layer Styles or Blending Options are used.

Q5: What are Blending Modes, and how can they be used to modify the appearance of layers?

Blending Modes determine how a layer interacts with the layers below it. They offer various ways to blend the colors and tones of layers, creating a wide range of effects. Some common blending modes include:

• Dissolve: Creates a grainy, pixelated effect by randomly turning off pixels based on opacity.
• Darken Modes (e.g., Multiply): These modes darken the image. Multiply removes white colors, keeping only black tones.
• Lighten Modes (e.g., Screen): These modes lighten the image. Screen removes black colors, keeping only white tones.
• Overlay: Highlights both dark and light colors within an image
• Color: Can be used to color black and white pictures.

The narrator suggests experimenting with different blending modes and using the arrow keys to see which option suits you best.

Q6: How can I remove a white background from an image using blending modes?

The easiest way to remove a purely white background from an image placed on a layer above other content is to change the layer’s blending mode to “Multiply”. This mode makes white pixels transparent, allowing the content beneath to show through, while keeping the black pixels visible.

Q7: How can I invert the colors of a layer?

To invert the colors of a layer (e.g., turning black to white and vice versa), select the layer and press Ctrl+I (Windows) or Cmd+I (Mac), or go to Image > Adjustments > Invert. This will reverse the color values of the pixels on that layer.

Q8: How can I group layers together, and what are the benefits of doing so?

To group layers, select the desired layers in the Layers panel. You can select multiple contiguous layers by clicking on the first layer, holding down the Shift key, and then clicking on the last layer. For non-contiguous layers, click the first layer, hold down the Ctrl/Cmd key, and then click on each additional layer you want to include in the group. Once the layers are selected, press Ctrl+G (Windows) or Cmd+G (Mac) to create a group. Alternatively, click the “Create a new group” icon (folder icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel. Benefits of grouping layers include:

• Organization: Keeps your Layers panel tidy and manageable, especially in complex projects with many layers.
• Collective Transformations: Allows you to move, transform, or apply effects to the entire group as a single unit.
• Copying and Pasting The entire group can be copied and pasted elsewhere.

Photoshop Layers: Management, Blending, and Properties

The Layers panel in Photoshop contains multiple options that allow you to manipulate and organize different elements of an image.

Background Layer:

• When you open an image in Photoshop, it often appears as a background layer which is locked.
• A locked background layer cannot be moved or have its opacity adjusted until it is converted to a normal layer by double-clicking it.
• Once converted to a normal layer, you can rename it and access all the features like opacity control.

Normal Layers:

• Normal layers have all options available, such as opacity and blending modes.
• These layers are not locked and allow for full manipulation.

Moving Images Between Layers/Files:

• You can drag and drop images between files using the move tool.
• Alternatively, you can copy (Control+C) and paste (Control+V) images between files.

Opacity and Fill:

• Opacity adjusts the transparency of a layer.
• Fill also affects transparency, but its full effect is realized with layer styles or blending options.
• For now, opacity and fill can be considered the same.

Locks:

• Lock Transparent Pixels: Prevents painting on transparent areas of the layer.
• When enabled, you can only draw on the non-transparent parts of the layer.
• If transparent pixels are unlocked, using “alt + backspace” will fill the entire layer with color.
• Lock Image Pixels: Prevents any drawing or editing on the layer but still allows moving and transforming it.
• Lock Position: Prevents moving the layer.
• You can work on the layer, but its position remains fixed.
• Lock All: Completely locks the layer, preventing any modifications.
• Disables all features, similar to a background layer.
• Auto Nesting (Artboard): Prevents automatic movement of layers between artboards.
• This lock ensures that when working with multiple artboards, the artwork stays within its intended artboard.

Blending Modes:

• Blending modes affect how layers interact with each other.
• Dissolve: Turns off random pixels as opacity is lowered, creating a grainy effect.
• Multiply: Removes white colors, leaving only the black colors.
• Useful for removing white backgrounds from images.
• Screen: Removes black colors, leaving only the white colors.
• Inverting colors (Control+I) can switch black to white and vice versa, useful with the Screen blending mode.
• Overlay: Highlights both light and dark colors.
• Dark areas become darker, and light areas become lighter.
• Hue: Applies a color tone to the layer.
• Color: Can be used to colorize black and white images.
• Luminous: Retains the colors from the layer below.

Layer Search:

• You can search for layers by name or effect.
• Filter layers by type (image, pixel, adjustment layer, etc.).

Layer Management:

• Delete Layer: Click the layer and delete it.
• Groups:
• You can group layers by selecting them and pressing Control+G.
• Groups act like folders, keeping layers organized.
• Groups can be moved and copied.

Photoshop: Converting Background Layers to Normal Layers

When an image is first opened in Photoshop, it often appears as a background layer, which has certain restrictions. To unlock the full potential for editing, this background layer needs to be converted into a normal layer.

Here’s how you can convert a background layer to a normal layer and the implications of doing so:

• Conversion Process: To convert a background layer into a normal layer, simply double-click on the background layer in the Layers panel. A dialog box will appear, allowing you to rename the layer. Upon clicking “OK”, the background layer is transformed into a normal layer.
• Features of a Normal Layer: Once the layer is converted, it becomes a normal layer, unlocking several features:
• Moveable: The layer can be moved freely within the canvas.
• Opacity Adjustments: You can adjust the opacity of the layer, making it more or less transparent.
• Blending Modes: Access to blending modes, which allow you to change how the layer interacts with the layers beneath it.
• Unlocked: The layer is no longer locked, meaning you can make any modifications you like.

Moving Images Between Layers and Files in Photoshop

To move images between layers or files in Photoshop, you can use the drag-and-drop method. Here’s how:

• Using the Move Tool: Select the move tool in Photoshop.
• Dragging the Image: Click on the image you want to move and drag it.
• Moving Between Files: If you are moving the image to another file, drag the image to the destination file’s tab. Once you hover over the tab, the destination file will open. Then, drag the image onto the canvas of the destination file and release the mouse button to drop the image. A white border around the canvas indicates where you are dropping the image.

Alternatively, you can also copy and paste images between files:

• Copy: Select all (Control+A) the contents of the image you wish to move, and then copy it (Control+C).
• Paste: Go to the destination file and paste (Control+V) the image.

Photoshop: Locking Transparent Pixels in Layers

The Lock Transparent Pixels option in Photoshop’s Layers panel allows you to restrict drawing or painting only to the non-transparent areas of a layer. When this lock is enabled, the transparent pixels of the layer are protected, and you can only modify the parts of the layer that already contain content.

Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

• Functionality: When you lock transparent pixels, you prevent any modifications to the transparent areas of the selected layer. This means you can only draw or paint on the parts of the layer that already have pixels.
• Visual Indicator: A small lock icon appears on the layer in the Layers panel when transparent pixels are locked.
• Use Case: This lock is useful when you want to add details or shading to an object on a layer without accidentally painting outside its boundaries.
• Behavior:
• With transparent pixels locked, attempting to draw on a transparent area will have no effect.
• Drawing on existing, non-transparent pixels will work as expected.
• Filling the Layer: If transparent pixels are unlocked, using “Alt + Backspace” will fill the entire layer with the foreground color, overwriting any existing content. If the transparent pixels are locked, “Alt + Backspace” will only fill the non-transparent pixels.
• Moving and Transforming: Locking transparent pixels does not prevent you from moving or transforming the layer. You can still adjust the position and size of the layer, but you cannot alter its transparent areas.

Photoshop Blending Modes: A Comprehensive Guide

Blending modes in Photoshop are used to determine how layers interact with each other, creating various effects. Here’s a detailed overview of how to use blending modes:

• Accessing Blending Modes: Blending modes are located at the top of the Layers panel. They offer a range of options that change how the selected layer blends with the layers beneath it.
• Types of Blending Modes and Their Uses:
• Dissolve: This mode turns off random pixels as the opacity is lowered, creating a grainy or textured effect. When the opacity is reduced, instead of becoming transparent, random pixels disappear.
• Darken Modes: This set of modes generally produces darker colors or removes lighter colors.
• Multiply: This mode removes white colors, leaving only the black colors. It is useful for removing white backgrounds from images.
• Lighten Modes: These modes generally produce lighter colors or remove darker colors.
• Screen: This mode removes black colors, leaving only the white colors. Inverting the colors (Control+I) can switch black to white and vice versa, which is useful with the Screen blending mode.
• Overlay: This mode highlights both light and dark colors. Dark areas become darker, and light areas become lighter. It makes the image dark where there is black and light where there is white.
• Hue: This mode applies a color tone to the layer. For example, applying a blue hue will give the overall layer a blue tone.
• Color: This mode can be used to colorize black and white images.
• Luminous: This mode retains the colors from the layer below, making them prominent regardless of the color applied on the current layer.
• Practical Applications and Tips:
• Removing White Backgrounds: Use the Multiply blending mode to make white backgrounds disappear, leaving only the darker elements.
• Removing Black Backgrounds: Use the Screen blending mode to remove black backgrounds and keep the white elements.
• Creating Overlays: The Overlay mode is useful for creating effects where both light and dark areas are enhanced.
• Colorizing: Use the Color mode to add specific colors to an image, especially useful for black and white photos.
• Experimentation: Since the results of blending modes can vary based on the colors and content of the layers, it’s often necessary to experiment to achieve the desired effect. You can cycle through different blending modes using the arrow keys to see the results in real-time.
• Non-Predictable Results: Some blending modes produce results that may not be immediately predictable, especially with colored images. Trial and error can help in understanding their effects.

The Original Text

[Music] Assalam Walekum Welcome to GF, a mentor, I am your teacher Imran and today this is our class number three of Photoshop beginner series and today our topic is layers, that is, the layers panel on the right end, some students find it a little scary, a little frightening, but it is not that much of a problem, I had given you guys the idea of ​​layers earlier that layers are very important, let’s see today what other options do we get with layers and how easy the layers panel is, you can find things very easily with great fun, so let’s see, so first of all I am taking a new file from here and see, I am telling you the options of some layers from the very basic point of view and I am telling you the options of this one of 1000, 500, well it does not matter, you can take any size and so let’s suppose here if you see, you have the background, if this is now our focus today is on this panel, the entire layer’s end The first thing that you see is if you take a new image or even open any image, you see this background layer. In this, if I open any image, so let’s suppose I am opening this image and okay, so as soon as I open this image, you can see here in it, here also you have a background layer. Now this background layer is such a layer that you cannot even move it, you cannot do anything. As soon as you drag it, it says convert to normal layer. Now what is this normal layer? Normal layer is such a layer in which all these options like opacity etc. are present. This layer is not locked. Normal layer is locked in this way. Look here, if you notice carefully, there is a small lock, right, so this layer is locked. If instead of this, I take a layer above and suppose I create anything on it and let’s take this yellow color and paint it here. Okay, now as I painted, this layer is a normal layer. In this you have all the features like you can move it to the right and you can lower its opacity from here so what is the opacity obviously it becomes a little transparent okay below this you have the fill given here now this fill etc. is obviously present on it but what if you want that we can use this background layer on top and we can lower the opacity on it then we can simply do this work that double click on it like on the background layer you have to simply double click where it is written and this layer zero will be given its name itself if you want you can change its name you will click ok as soon as you click ok here you have the layer zero converted now see you have all these features and in fact if I want that yes I keep this yellow colour layer of mine below and I keep it on top now why should I keep it on top maybe I wanted to lower its opacity see this and and it is possible that I want to change its I wanted to cut a little, like suppose I selected this much part and deleted it, so now see, it’s a simple thing that I wanted this yellow color below and this layer of mine is coming on top, so yes, this is possible only when you have this normal layer or transparent layer, right after your background layer, which is coming to you and that is your transparent layer, you know, okay, if you see here, now it is not necessary that you create something, you can also bring another image, so let’s bring some other image open and I am opening this image and I am simply dragging it with the move tool to this tab and leaving it here, so what will happen is that simply a copy of it will come to us here, so I dragged this image from here and dropped it here, see, apart from drag and drop, you can also do this, if you are not able to drag and drop, then there is no problem, control A means select all, control C means copy and coming here, control V means paste, so you can also do these things You can do it, it is not necessary that you only do drag and drop, so if you want to do drag and drop, then I will tell you once again that simply you will go to this file and drag and which tool will you use, this move tool, okay, by dragging with this you have to come up on this tab, now come down and see here, you will see a white border on or around your entire canvas, okay, this shows where you are dropping, right, now as soon as you release the mouse button, this image will come here, okay, so it is quite simple, now see here in this, if I am lowering its opacity, then this is happening, okay, well if you look down in this, then you have an option given to fill, the work of fill is something else, when we will see layer styles or blending options, we will not see in today’s class, we will see later, but we will see it is very useful, but for now, if you understand, then it is exactly like opacity, right, so it is your choice, whether you use opacity or fill, both will have the same work, for now Its further work is that we will see in some other class but we will definitely see that if you come here next to it, then you have some locks given, so for example if I lock this one, this is your transparent pixels lock transparent pixels, as soon as I lock it, see, a small lock has been formed here, but in locking it your layer has not been completely locked, you can still move it, okay, you can even transform, now what is transform, how will it happen, if you press control t, then you can transform any layer, so as soon as I pressed control t, see, here you have got this bounding box, now you can make it smaller, you can destroy it like this, so if you do not want to destroy it, then please press shift so that it can be proportionally smaller or bigger, okay, so I proportionally reduced it a little and now brought it here and as soon as you finalize, your editing or transformation is finalized, so please press enter on this now So after pressing enter, now see, its size has become smaller, now see what was the advantage of this lock, as I said, you have locked it, but even after locking, your layer is moving, so let’s say I want to paint something here, see, the paint is not happening here because all the transparent pixels of this layer are locked, yes, of course, if I paint here, it will be done, so this can be done very easily, you can do things like this and the interesting thing is that if your transparent pixels are locked, then you can simply do all back space, so just like the foreground color is filled, you can fill here, and if these transparent pixels of yours are not locked, then if you do all back space, then your entire layer will be filled with color and that image of yours will be gone, okay, so just remember now that locked transparent pixels means all the extra area, that is, if I hide the layer below for a while, then you will see that yes, this entire layer is transparent. Pixels are these, they are locked, so if you come here moving the brush or you are drawing anything with any tool, then you will be able to draw only in that area which is not locked, that means what was locked, only the transparent area, after this if I unlock this and lock this one, so what is this, locked image pixels, now as I locked this, see, this also got locked, that means now I cannot draw anything on this layer, as soon as I try to draw, it is giving me an error that I could not use the brush tool because the layer is locked, but still I can move it, I can transform it and it’s quite easy, it’s just that now you cannot create anything on this layer, okay, next you are coming to this, this will be your locked position, now in this you cannot move this layer, you cannot transform it, I am doing control T, nothing is happening, okay, but remember I had unlocked both of them just now, so that It means that I can work on the entire layer but I cannot move this layer. So, many times we need to work on something but we don’t want to move it. So, we just lock its position. Yes, this can also be done. For example, you said that it should not move and the secondary transparent pixels should be locked. So, now you see, if I am moving the brush, it is happening only in this part and you are not able to move this layer. So, look here, these two types of locks have been added to you. Okay, so now I have unlocked all of them. This is a new lock that has come to you. I guess, this was added since CC 2017. Auto nesting into and out of artboards. Well, it is related to artboard. At this time, there is no artboard in our file. I am stopping it for now. When we will see the artboards, I will definitely tell you guys about it. Otherwise, you guys will get confused. Let it come here. By the way, by the way, this This lock was not there even in 2015 because there were no artboards in it, right, so as far as artboards are concerned, or I think they were, I don’t know, I don’t remember, but it was definitely not there in CS6. In CS6, there were only one or two or four locks. Well, let me tell you the advantage of this artboard is that when we are working on multiple artboards, it should not automatically move to another artboard, it should not get nested. Problems arise sometimes that this artwork was here, it was on this artboard and then it is also in that artboard. It was found that when I removed it from one place, it got removed from the other place as well. So, this is a lock to prevent that nesting. So, right now you guys might get a little confused about this. Just forget it, there is no issue in this. We will look into it later. Now next, you have this lock all. By lock all, it means that this layer of yours has been totally locked and now you can neither move it nor create anything on it. You cannot do anything. It has become exactly like your Opacity means the background layer got locked in the same way and all the features above got disabled so let me tell you one more thing that all your locks are fine apart from this you can lower the opacity etc. in all of them but remember that if you lock all then all your things will also get disabled so I believe you guys must have understood locks very well next we have a very important thing given here see I am actually going from below and will keep coming up now this is we have blending modes in photo photoshop however this thing is also present in illustrator but it is used so much in photoshop on layers in fact apart from layers it is present in many places blending modes so if you understand blending mode here then you will also understand to a great extent wherever it is available in other tools so first of all so see one thing that if I am using this image When I am lowering the opacity, it is becoming more graduated, okay, but if I come from here and change its blending mode, dissolving is happening, so you can control this thing through these options, these are called blending modes, blending options are a different thing, these are blending modes, okay, so if I do dissolving option, there is no problem, yes, if I lower its opacity now, then something different will happen, this is a grainy, noisy result, you are getting the result, now what is happening, if I zoom it a lot and I make its opacity full, then you will understand now that as I lower the opacity, it will start turning off some random pixels, that means see, usually when we lower the opacity, the pixels start turning transparent, here it is not becoming transparent, here random pixels are turning off, so because of which you have a big A very textured kind of result is coming out directly if I zoom out to the right so this is [music] the results that will come out will be like this which is unpredictable because different results are coming with every colour in these yes let me tell you a few things like if you look here it is dark noon you can see here there is a line so this is a complete set which will always be giving you the response of dark colours or will be giving the result of dark colours as soon as I do this you have dark colours and light colours will get removed okay and there is a multiply in it which is being used very intensively if we want to remove white completely now for example I have closed this image and let’s open an image which is a little different this is an image I have taken and although it has transparent pixels I suppose I will make it white and merge it okay how I did the merge is a matter of later control This is a shortcut. No matter how many layers you want to merge, we don’t do it manually. I am doing this only to explain to you that this is such an image which has black and white artwork. There is no other color in it, it is only purely black or purely white. I am bringing this image to this image of mine. Now I have brought it here. Let’s zoom in and see. I want the white color to be completely removed from this image. So if you are thinking that I should select it with the magic wand. Well, it is possible that with the magic wand, you can remove all these contents, etc., and click on white and press delete, then yes it will be done. But sometimes there are some issues. Anyway, this can also be solved. But I want to tell you a very different technique than this. Sometimes we do too much work with these blending modes. Now remember that if you want the white color to disappear completely and the black color to remain purely here, you don’t have to do anything, you just go and delete the image. We have to multiply it [Music] [Music] That’s straight, like here there is a division which is responding to dark colors and this one is responding to light colors, so if I look at light colors, here the screen is at second number, see here the multiply is at second number and in this second portion the screen is at second number, if I zoom in then the black pure will disappear, the black will disappear completely and you will be left with white, so now if you zoom in and see it, then you have simply white color and the black color has completely disappeared, well I will give you a small tip that if I have kept any of your layers in normal mode right now, if you press control I or go to image go to adjustment and you have a given invert, remember this is control I which we were using for selection, it was inverse shift control I this is only for selection but if you do image adjustment and invert then the colors will be inverted, that is black which It will be converted to white and the white will be converted to black. As soon as I click on it or press Control I on the keyboard, okay, what happened is that all the white that was there became black and all the black that was there became white. Now if I screen it, the black will disappear and this design of ours is present in front of you and you must have seen such artworks many times where there is an image at the back and a design is made on top of the white or some times text is placed, right, so I believe you must have understood this and it is a very useful thing. In this, you do not need any selection etc. Many times you simply pick up an image with a sketch or sketch it yourself and it is on a white paper, you simply placed it on top of the image, Control I it means it will be inverted and by multiplying or screening you can show your artwork. If you screen then white will be visible, if you multiply then black will be visible. Now, the third portion in this is highlighting both of yours, meaning both are visible. There are light colours as well as dark colours, so if I overlay it, then look carefully, wherever I had black, my image became dark and wherever I had white, my image became bright from there. If you look very carefully, see this here very clearly you can see that it was black here but the image is visible, all the content inside is visible from everywhere, but what is happening is that where there is black, it becomes dark, where there was white, it becomes light. Now remember, as I said in the beginning, there are so many of these, you cannot predict what result will come with which colour. So, if I bring a coloured image here, then you will get completely different things. I am picking up this image and bringing it here and see this, if I lighten it, then the light result will be coming, if I darken it, then the dark result will be coming, but then again in multiply, a little different colour in burn and different in linear burn and different and so on, but usually what do we do? We are doing that once we click here and by pressing down the arrow keys from the keyboard we are seeing, where we get a satisfactory result we stop there, so there is a bit of guess work involved in this, definitely we cannot call it fixed values, fixed values ​​two three, as I told you guys what dissolve does, everyone knows that as soon as you bring down the opacity, random pixels will go off, you will get a result of a little texture type or green type, what will multiply do, it will make your whites disappear completely, it will keep the blacks and what will screen do, it will make all your blacks disappear and keep the whites in front, right, the third one that I told you is overlay, what is overlay doing that it is showing both, right, b b again, if now you have a colored image, then a little different result is coming, yes, it is a bit of a matter of trial and error, you can use where you like it, but as you practice, you will get a good sense of it and You must be using these blending modes very confidently in creating things. Okay, lastly, there is some difference given here. It is giving very opposite results. Exclusion and then Subtract and Divide. So again, different results must be coming with each color. I am not going to tell you anything or anyone about what result will come from which. I am just telling you that you will get an idea that when you use these, you will start understanding. Now the next thing you have here is Hue. Hue is the color. Look, what is happening is that your normal layer was on some blue tone. That’s right, it will give a blue color to the overall layer. But if you want exactly the same colors, then color it. Now this color will be useful. Many times, we can take its help in coloring black and white pictures. So, for example, if we talk about this layer only, I am taking a new layer from here and here I am wanting I want this apple to become some other color, that means it should become blue. Now I am doing a strange thing, I know, I took the blue color and I made my brush a little smaller and pressed it a little, okay Rat, and I simply started painting on it. Now obviously, you all know that if I color it like this, it will look very bad. So do a very simple thing, make a selection of it. Please, I quickly took this quick selection and started selecting this L. Coming to this layer, I am making the brush bigger, I hope you all remember the previous class well. Okay, so I have selected this L. I will take a little part out of the selection. So I took this selection and I simply came to this new layer and filled it with blue color. Now obviously, it looks so bad that I mean the L has disappeared. You can do this, come from here and put its color mode, which is the blending mode, on color. What will happen is that your L will become blue. Obviously we have many other ways to change its color, very good ways for now, just for my beginners students, this is enough for them, you can even do this, paint on a black and white picture and change its mode color, then it becomes color, so to a large extent you can get your work done with this, Luminous is a bit strange and but what is happening with Luminous is that the color which was below will keep coming, now no matter what your color is from above, for example, even if I make it red, I filled it red, nothing happened, only green came, because actually green was in it, it will keep bringing it in front of you by making it prominent, so anyway don’t worry about this, which you are not able to understand, there is no issue at least right now you can play with multiply screen overlay and color in the beginning, well, okay, so I hope you guys must have understood everything till here, now if you come to the top, then these are some very interesting things placed here. Sometimes it happens that we have a file which has a lot of layers. Now if we want to select or search any of the many layers, then we can do it from here. Like for example, you tell me the name. Let’s say I said layer. As soon as I typed that, I saw that the background layer disappeared. And here the file with the name of the layer is visible. And you can also search by name. Sometimes you can search by some effect, bevel or emoji applied or what, we will see later. But it can also be that you can see the kind that like the image is pixels or rar or your adjustment layer. Now obviously there was no adjustment layer in it. Type layer is not there either. Vector layer is not there either. So whatever it is, you can directly turn it on from here and that particular type of layer will start appearing to you. Remember, in Illustrator, I mean sorry [music] [music], if you want to delete it, then you simply click on it. Go and it will keep asking you if you check ‘Don’t show again’ then it won’t ask you again. I usually keep it on so that if I accidentally click here, my layer doesn’t disappear and I do n’t even know about it. So I always keep it on. The second thing is that if you have a lot of layers, you can create a group by selecting all of them together. What happens in a group is that it becomes a kind of folder. So let’s suppose I selected all these layers, clicked on it, pressed shift and clicked here, these will be selected together. Or you can also do this, I clicked here, pressed control and clicked here and skipped it. If I press control-G, then control-G will group. See, you have a group. The advantage of this group is that all the layers in it will remain in one place. I will also explain it to you in a new file. Let’s say I have this one. Oh sorry, I created it on the background layer itself. Let’s say I have this one and I want to create some more layers. I make circles of different colours on different layers, like this one, I took another layer and let’s take one of these, so don’t worry, I have taken my brush in a blurry way. Now, I selected all these three layers by holding down shift. This, I clicked here, holding down shift, clicked here and control. What is the advantage of this? Now, this is your complete group. You can move it or even copy it. See how the copy will be done. If you drag with alt, it will be copied. Just like in illustrator. And see here, the entire group has been copied. Similarly, not an empty group, you can actually copy the layer as well. In the same way, you will use this move tool with alt and you can move it. So, I hope you guys have understood till now. There are a few things here regarding the group. Let’s stop now. I will definitely explain you in the upcoming classes. That’s all for today’s class. I hope you guys liked it. And if you liked it, then Please like and if you have n’t subscribed then please subscribe thank you [music]

By Amjad Izhar
Contact: amjad.izhar@gmail.com
https://amjadizhar.blog

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The source is a transcript from a GFXMentor Photoshop tutorial aimed at beginners. Instructor Imran introduces the course by emphasizing that while it’s for novices, even experienced users might learn something new. He stresses that Photoshop, as a raster-based software, differs significantly from Illustrator, a vector-based program, and shouldn’t be directly compared. The tutorial covers the interface, basic tools like the Move and Marquee tools, selections, layers, foreground and background colors, and essential shortcuts. Imran underscores the importance of understanding resolution and working non-destructively with layers, advising students to take their time and focus on quality over speed.

GFXMentor’s Photoshop for Beginners: A Study Guide

Quiz

Answer the following questions in 2-3 sentences each.

1. According to Imran, what is the primary difference between Photoshop and Illustrator?
2. What does it mean for Photoshop to be a “Raster-based” software?
3. What resolution (pixels per inch) should you typically use when designing for screens in Photoshop, and why?
4. How do Foreground and Background colors work in Photoshop, and what keyboard shortcuts are used to fill a selection with each?
5. Explain what the Marquee tool does and how selections are used in Photoshop.
6. Why is working with layers crucial in Photoshop?
7. What is the purpose of “Feathering” a selection in Photoshop?
8. What is the difference between using the Feather option in the Property bar versus right-clicking on the image with the selection tool?
9. Describe the function of “Select Inverse” and how it is used.
10. What is the keyboard shortcut to Deselect an active area?

Quiz Answer Key

1. Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels and is primarily used for photo editing, while Illustrator is a vector-based software with different functions that should not be directly compared.
2. Being “Raster-based” means Photoshop relies on pixels to create images. The image quality is dependent on the number of pixels, and enlarging the image can lead to pixelation.
3. You should use 72 pixels per inch when designing for screens because most browsers and mobile apps display images in this resolution.
4. Foreground and Background colors are like having two color pencils that you can easily switch between; Alt+Backspace fills with the Foreground color, while Ctrl+Backspace fills with the Background color.
5. The Marquee tool is used to create selections, which define the active area of the canvas. Any edits or effects applied will only affect the selected area.
6. Working with layers in Photoshop allows you to move, transform, and edit elements independently without affecting other parts of the image. This provides flexibility and non-destructive editing.
7. “Feathering” softens the edges of a selection, creating a blurred or faded effect. It is commonly used to blend selections with their surroundings for a more natural look.
8. Feather in the Property Bar is persistent for future selections until you change it. Feather applied by right-clicking is only applied to that specific selection.
9. “Select Inverse” reverses the selection, activating everything outside the current selection and deactivating the area inside; you can fill the now selected area with a color or effect.
10. The keyboard shortcut to deselect an active area is Ctrl+D.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the importance of understanding Raster-based images in Photoshop. How do you avoid problems of poor design and what are best practices to avoid the pitfalls of pixelated images?
2. Explain the concept of non-destructive editing in Photoshop and how the use of layers contributes to this workflow. Provide specific examples.
3. Compare and contrast using the selection tools in Photoshop with the selection methods used in Adobe Illustrator, and how the basic principles can be used to enhance your workflow.
4. Describe a scenario where you might use “Select Inverse” in a photo editing project. Explain the steps you would take and the desired outcome.
5. How do the shortcuts discussed in the source material enhance the speed and quality of Photoshop projects?

Glossary of Key Terms

• Raster-based: An image composed of pixels, where image quality depends on the number of pixels; enlarging a raster image can cause pixelation.
• Pixel: The smallest unit of an image on a screen, a tiny square of color.
• Resolution: The number of pixels per inch (PPI) in an image; higher resolution means more detail.
• Canvas: The work area in Photoshop where you create and edit images.
• Artboard: A feature that creates multiple canvases in the same Photoshop document.
• Layer: A transparent sheet on which you can place elements of your design, allowing for independent editing.
• Foreground Color: The primary color used for painting, filling, and stroking.
• Background Color: The secondary color that can be used for various purposes, like filling a background.
• Selection: An active area of the canvas defined by a selection tool, limiting edits to that specific area.
• Marquee Tool: A selection tool used to create rectangular or elliptical selections.
• Feather: A setting that softens the edges of a selection, creating a blurred or faded effect.
• Select Inverse: A command that reverses the selection, selecting everything outside the current selection.
• Deselect: A command that removes any active selection on the canvas.
• Workspace: The arrangement of panels, toolbars, and windows in the Photoshop interface.
• Zoom Level: The magnification level at which you are viewing an image, expressed as a percentage.
• Shortcuts: Keyboard combinations that provide quick access to commands and tools.
• RGB Color Mode: A color model that uses red, green, and blue to create colors; commonly used for screen display.
• CMYK Color Mode: A color model that uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to create colors; commonly used for printing.

GFXMentor: Photoshop for Beginners – Lesson 1 Summary

Okay, here’s a briefing document summarizing the main themes and important ideas from the provided source “01.pdf,” which appears to be a transcript of a beginner’s Photoshop tutorial by “GFXMentor” Imran:

Briefing Document: GFXMentor Photoshop Beginners Training – Lesson 1

Source: Transcript “01.pdf”

Main Themes:

• Introduction to Photoshop for Beginners: The tutorial aims to provide a foundational understanding of Photoshop for individuals with little to no prior experience. Imran emphasizes that advanced topics will be covered later.
• Photoshop vs. Illustrator: A recurring theme is the comparison between Photoshop and Illustrator, both Adobe products. Imran stresses that they are distinct tools with different functions and should not be directly compared.
• Raster-Based Nature of Photoshop: A core concept is that Photoshop is a raster-based software dependent on pixels. This contrasts with Illustrator’s vector-based nature. The implications of this (especially regarding image size and resolution) are repeatedly emphasized.
• Importance of Layers: Layers are presented as a crucial element for non-destructive editing and manipulating individual elements within an image. Imran strongly advises using new layers for every new element to maintain flexibility.
• Selection Tools and Techniques: The tutorial focuses on the Marquee tools (Rectangular and Elliptical) for making selections. It covers various selection techniques like adding, subtracting, intersecting, and feathering selections.
• Shortcuts vs. Quality: While shortcuts are useful for speeding up workflow, Imran emphasizes that quality of work is more important than speed. He encourages beginners not to be overwhelmed by shortcuts and to focus on understanding the fundamental concepts.

Key Ideas and Facts:

• Raster vs. Vector: Photoshop is a raster-based software, meaning it relies on pixels. “Photoshop is actually a Raster-based software. What’s Raster? It is basically dependent on pixels.” This means image quality can degrade if an image is enlarged without proper initial sizing.
• Photo Editing Focus: Initially, Photoshop was primarily designed for photo editing. “At the start Photoshop was created solely to edit photos here.”
• Interface Similarities & Differences: While the interface may resemble Illustrator due to both being Adobe products, their functions are different. It covers customizing the workspace and resetting it if needed (Window>>Workspace).
• Version: The tutorial uses Adobe Photoshop CC 2018.
• Image Size and Resolution: Unlike Illustrator, setting the correct image size in Photoshop is crucial from the beginning because of its raster nature. “Now, you have to keep in mind that it’s Raster-based software, meaning if we don’t take the right size and later we enlarge it, your artwork will go bad!” For screen design, a resolution of 72 pixels per inch is recommended.
• Color Mode: RGB color mode is the starting point.
• Canvas vs. Artboard: The work area in Photoshop is traditionally called a “canvas,” but the “Artboard” option is now available.
• Zoom Level and 100% View: It’s crucial to check artwork at 100% zoom level to accurately assess sharpness and pixelation. “Whenever you build something you have to check it at 100% then you’ll be aware whether it’s correct, like the edges are present, pixelating or not.”
• Layers are Essential: Working with layers is highly recommended for flexibility and non-destructive editing. “Just like in Illustrator I never restrict on taking new layers every time, now I’ll do because as long as you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately.” Layers are compared to transparent glass sheets.
• Foreground and Background Colors: Photoshop uses foreground and background colors instead of Fill and Stroke in Illustrator.
• Selection Tools:The Marquee tool selects an active area of pixels. “Now, whatever we’ll work, it’ll remain in this selection only.”
• Selection options include New Selection, Add to Selection (Shift), Subtract from Selection (Alt), and Intersect (Alt+Shift).
• Feathering softens the edges of a selection. It can be set in the Property bar or via right-click -> Feather.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection.
• Deselect (Ctrl+D) removes the selection.
• Filling Selections: Alt+Backspace fills with the foreground color, and Ctrl+Backspace fills with the background color.
• Undo and History: Ctrl+Z undoes the last action, while Ctrl+Alt+Z steps back through the history.
• Image Source: Unsplash (unsplash.com) is recommended for free stock images.
• Importing Images: Dragging an image into an existing Photoshop file adds it to that file. Dragging it onto the Menu bar opens it in a new file.

Quotes:

• “Please don’t compare them, I’ve told the same back when I started Illustrator training. Even today I repeat, you really can’t compare them. Because both have different functions for different works.” (Regarding Photoshop and Illustrator)
• “So layers are a great ‘friend’, please form a good ‘friendship’ with them, just keep in mind that whenever you build new things you’re taking a new layer too, it’s beneficial for you solely.” (Emphasis on Layers)
• “Bro don’t do that! Observe at 100% because wherever used, it’d remain at that size level. PNG and JPEG- these are Raster images, their sole purpose is to be seen at 100% size level.” (Checking Image Quality)

Overall Impression:

The tutorial provides a clear and accessible introduction to Photoshop for absolute beginners. The instructor uses relatable analogies and emphasizes practical tips, but it may get long due to the depth of explanation for each element and tool. The contrast between Photoshop and Illustrator and the importance of understanding raster-based images are key takeaways.

Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Started with Photoshop (Based on GFXMentor’s Beginner Training)

Question 1: What is Photoshop, and what is it primarily used for?

Photoshop is a raster-based software program primarily used for photo editing. Raster-based means it works with images made up of pixels. While its initial focus was on photo editing (like removing blemishes or altering appearances), it has expanded to handle various design tasks.

Question 2: How is Photoshop different from Illustrator, and why shouldn’t I compare them directly?

Photoshop and Illustrator, while both from Adobe, serve different purposes. Photoshop is a raster-based program that manipulates pixels within an image. Illustrator is a vector-based program that creates scalable graphics using mathematical equations. You shouldn’t compare them directly because they are designed for distinct types of work, and comparing them is like comparing apples to oranges.

Question 3: Why is it important to consider the size of the file when starting a new project in Photoshop?

Because Photoshop is raster-based, image quality is dependent on resolution. Unlike vector graphics, raster images don’t scale up well. If you start with an incorrect or too small of size and then enlarge it later, the artwork can become pixelated and lose quality. Therefore, it’s important to start with the correct dimensions for your intended use (print, web, etc.). When simply editing a photo, size isn’t an issue.

Question 4: What resolution should I use when creating images for screens (websites, mobile apps, etc.)?

When designing for screens (computer monitors, websites, mobile apps, TVs), a resolution of 72 pixels per inch (PPI) is generally recommended. This resolution is suitable for digital displays and helps optimize file size for online use.

Question 5: What are layers, and why are they crucial when working in Photoshop?

Layers are like transparent sheets stacked on top of each other. Each layer can contain different elements of your design. They are crucial because they allow you to work on individual elements separately without affecting the rest of the image. This makes it easy to move, edit, and delete elements independently. Working without layers can lead to difficulty in making changes later on.

Question 6: What is the “Selection” tool used for, and how does it affect the work I do in Photoshop?

The Selection tool (like the Marquee tool) defines an active area on your canvas. Any actions you take, such as painting or filling with color, will only affect the selected area. Think of it as isolating a specific portion of your image to work on, leaving the rest untouched.

Question 7: What is “Feathering,” and how can I use it with selections?

Feathering softens the edges of a selection, creating a gradual transition between the selected area and the surrounding pixels. You can apply feathering using the “Feather” option in the Properties bar (for permanent change) or by right-clicking inside the selection and choosing “Feather” (for a one-time effect). It’s useful for creating soft-edged shapes or blending elements together seamlessly. Remember to adjust the pixel amount depending on the size of your image.

Question 8: What are some useful keyboard shortcuts for beginners in Photoshop?

Some helpful shortcuts mentioned are:

• Zoom In: Ctrl + (plus) or Alt + Scroll Up
• Zoom Out: Ctrl – (minus) or Alt + Scroll Down
• Fill with Foreground Color: Alt + Backspace
• Fill with Background Color: Ctrl + Backspace
• Deselect: Ctrl + D
• Undo: Ctrl + Z
• Multiple Undos (History): Ctrl + Alt + Z

Photoshop Basics: Interface, Tools, Layers, and Selections

Here’s an overview of Photoshop basics, according to the provided source:

• Photoshop is a raster-based software dependent on pixels.
• Initially, Photoshop was mainly used for photo editing.
• The version of Photoshop used in the source is Adobe Photoshop CC 2018.
• Similarities exist between Photoshop and Illustrator because both are made by Adobe, but their functions differ.

Key Interface Elements and Tools:

• The toolbar is on the left side, and panels are on the right.
• The interface can be customized by pulling out panels and arranging them as desired.
• If the interface is altered, it can be reset to its previous state by going to Window>>Workspace and doing Reset.
• The Move tool and Marquee tool are fundamental.

Creating a New File:

• When creating a new file, it is important to know the correct size to avoid artwork degradation upon enlargement.
• Presets are available for Photos, Print, Art & Illustrations, Web, and Mobile.
• It is advisable to name files properly for easy searching.
• You can adjust Width, Height, Resolution, Color Mode, and Background Content.
• Resolution for screen design should be 72 pixels per inch.
• It is recommended to keep the color mode on RGB and the bit depth at 8 bits for web and mobile applications.
• “Canvas” is the term used for the work area in Photoshop.
• Using Ctrl+ (plus) and Ctrl- (minus) or Alt and scrolling can zoom in and out.

Working with Layers:

• Layers are a crucial aspect. Working on different layers allows you to move or transform elements separately.
• Taking a new layer can be done by clicking the new layer button.
• Layers can be imagined as transparent glass sheets stacked on top of each other, where each object stays detached, and can be moved or transformed easily.

Selections:

• Selections define the active area of the canvas.
• The Marquee tool is used for making selections.
• The “New Selection” option makes each new selection replace the previous one.
• To add to a selection, press Shift while making the selection.
• To subtract from a selection, press Alt.
• To intersect selections, press Alt+Shift.
• To fill a selection with the foreground color, use Alt+Backspace. To fill with the background color, use Ctrl+Backspace.

Feather Option:

• The Feather option softens the edges of a selection.
• To apply Feather temporarily, right-click with the Selection tool and choose Feather.

Other Selection Options:

• Normal mode allows selections of any size.
• Fixed Ratio mode creates selections with a fixed width-to-height ratio.
• Fixed Size mode creates selections of a fixed pixel size.
• Elliptical Marquee tool is used to make round selections. Press Shift to make a perfect circle.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection, activating the outer part of the canvas instead of the inner part.
• Deselect removes the selection. The shortcut is Ctrl+D.

Image Usage:

• It is important to work on layers to preserve original images and retain the ability to make changes.
• Stock images can be downloaded from websites like unsplash.com for practice.

Raster Image Characteristics in Photoshop

Here’s a discussion of raster images, based on the source:

• Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels.
• With raster images, it’s important to consider image size when creating a new file in Photoshop. If the image size isn’t right and it’s enlarged later, the artwork quality will decrease.
• When working with raster images, it is important to observe the image at 100% zoom to check its sharpness and avoid being concerned about pixelation when zoomed in excessively. PNG and JPEG are raster image formats designed to be viewed at a 100% size level.
• In raster images, you don’t create things individually; instead, you work with an area of pixels.

The source also mentions that a video will be made to properly explain the differences between raster and vector images.

Photoshop Selection Tool: A Comprehensive Guide

Here’s a discussion of the Selection tool in Photoshop, according to the provided source and our conversation history:

• The Selection tool is used to define the active area of the canvas. When a selection is active, any work done will only affect that selected area.
• The Marquee tool is a tool for making selections.
• When using the Selection tool, a property bar appears with various options. These options include:
• New Selection: Each new selection replaces the previous one.
• Add to Selection: Holding Shift while selecting adds to the existing selection.
• Subtract from Selection: Holding Alt subtracts from the existing selection.
• Intersect: Holding Alt+Shift will select the intersecting area.
• Feather softens the edges of a selection. To apply Feather temporarily, right-click with the Selection tool and choose Feather.
• Different modes for the Selection tool:
• Normal: Allows selections of any size.
• Fixed Ratio: Creates selections with a fixed width-to-height ratio.
• Fixed Size: Creates selections of a fixed pixel size.
• The Elliptical Marquee tool is used to make round selections. Press Shift to make a perfect circle.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection, activating the outer part of the canvas instead of the inner part.
• Deselect removes the selection. The shortcut is Ctrl+D.
• To fill a selection with the foreground color, use Alt+Backspace. To fill with the background color, use Ctrl+Backspace.
• As Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels, selections involve working with areas of pixels rather than individual objects.

Photoshop Layers: A Comprehensive Guide

Here’s a discussion of Layers in Photoshop, according to the provided source:

• Layers are a crucial aspect of working in Photoshop. Working on different layers allows you to move or transform elements separately.
• Taking a new layer can be done by clicking the new layer button.
• Layers can be imagined as transparent glass sheets stacked on top of each other, where each object stays detached, and can be moved or transformed easily.
• It is beneficial to take a new layer whenever new things are built. If you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately.
• If all work is done on a single layer, separating elements later becomes impossible.
• When an element is painted directly onto the Background layer (without creating a new layer), it becomes part of that layer and cannot be moved independently.
• If you fill an image without taking a new layer, it becomes a permanent change.
• Working on layers helps preserve original images and retain the ability to make changes.
• To delete a layer, select the layer and drag it to the delete icon or press Backspace (unless a selection is active, in which case only the selected area will be deleted).

Photoshop Image Editing Guide

Here’s a discussion of image editing in Photoshop, according to the provided source and our conversation history:

• Photoshop was initially created solely to edit photos.
• Image editing often involves tasks like removing blemishes.
• When editing images in Photoshop, it’s important to work with layers to preserve the original image and allow for flexible modifications.
• You can download stock images from sites like unsplash.com for practice. These images are free and can be used for commercial projects.
• When incorporating an image into Photoshop, you can either add it to an existing file or open it as a separate file by dragging and dropping it onto the menu bar.
• It’s important to observe the image at 100% zoom to check its actual quality.
• Selections can be used to isolate specific areas of an image for editing. The Feather option can create soft edges. You can also invert a selection so that you are editing everything outside the selection.
• To fill a selection with color, use Alt+Backspace to fill with the foreground color or Ctrl+Backspace to fill with the background color.
• Remember that Photoshop is a raster-based software, and enlarging images excessively can lead to pixelation.
• Always save a backup copy of your original images.

Aasalamu Alaikum, welcome to GFXMentor, I’m your teacher Imran. And from today we’re starting Photoshop beginner’s training. And yes many people are wondering, “Hey, will Sir only teach Beginners, not Advanced?” Of course I will, everything I’ll teach. But at the start, all the students and well-wishers of mine, if they don’t know anything about Photoshop, then it’ll be very helpful for them. But as it’s a beginners training, doesn’t mean those who know already won’t watch at all, of course watch it, because maybe you can learn more new things! Now first of all, before I start let me tell you some things, if you’ve already seen my Illustrator training and know about it, then, at first keep in mind, don’t try to find Illustrator in this software! You’ll become confused. Right? No. 2, some elements might be similar to Illustrator, just because these are made by the same company- Adobe. So the interfaces should be looking similar. Ahh… Some elements that are commonly used, definitely as we progress I’ll tell you gradually. But but but! Please don’t say Illustrator was good, Photoshop isn’t; or Photoshop was good, Illustrator isn’t. Please don’t compare them, I’ve told the same back when I started Illustrator training. Even today I repeat, you really can’t compare them. Because both have different functions for different works. Now what’s Photoshop for, that’s the important point. Photoshop is actually a Raster-based software. What’s Raster? It is basically dependent on pixels. Inshallah I’ll make a short video, explaining the differences properly, about the differences between Raster and Vector, you’ll understand them well. Now, “Photoshop”- from the name itself it seems to be related to photos, so yes! At the start Photoshop was created solely to edit photos here. Now what’s editing? For example we take a picture and it has problems like my face has lots of marks and blemishes, I often use Photoshop to remove them, many people do so. Ahh… When did I start using Photoshop? Well, as everyone knows I have around 17-18 years of experience, but I started Photoshop literally older than that period; I couldn’t do well that much. Yes one hobby I had, like everyone even when I was small, I used to paste my face on Salman Khan’s body, although I’m not a bodybuilder! () But, ahh… These hobbies I had, then I used to think “Yes I know Photoshop well! Fabulous things here, it’s so easy!” But when I understood, I realised that the front-end of Photoshop is nothing, lots of things are hidden in the backend! So definitely, when progressing to the Advanced techniques, we shall see that. Right? So, umm… C’mon let’s start! Okay so first of all, an interface you’re seeing here, must be too familiar, just like in Illustrator. But yes, as I said it’s made by Adobe too so you’ll see the similarities in their interfaces but the works are different. The version I’m using is Adobe Photoshop CC 2018. And… Yes let me share some things, usually when you install newly a welcome screen is shown, my one seems vanished, ran away, angry at me maybe, I dunno where did it go! () But that’s okay no problem, I didn’t need that much anyway, it’d kinda irritate me, my Photoshop would get a bit slow as it’d come at start, then we could proceed. But yes, anyways. This is your Photoshop, okay? In Illustrator you had the toolbars on the left side, similarly it’s here too. On the right side if you notice, some panels are given, time to time you’ll get different panels. Ahh, just in case let me tell you, if anythings vanishes from the interface, or if you make any such changes, remember anytime you can design the interface as you wish. You can pull out any panel and stick with each other. And whatever convenient you feel, you can keep on the front, things you don’t need, you just remove them. No problem. When you’re done setting up your interface, you’ll go to Window>>Workspace and from here you can save new workspace. I won’t be doing it now. However if everything vanishes away, understand? And you be like, “Sir our tools ran away and we did like removing this Property panel or whatever…” if disappears… totally fine! No problem at all, simply go to Window>>Workspace, and do Reset. If I use Essentials; I usually utilize it initially, this is a good starting point; and if you click Reset then all your elements will return back to their previous places. Right? Okay [clearing throat] I usually… okay if you see the toolbar, here two tiny arrows are given, if you click it it’ll show into double columns. If you wish you can keep it in a single column or double. My habit is to keep it in double column usually. Because from the very beginning it’d be double-columned in Photoshop so I’ve become habituated to it, but then it’s okay, you can change it as you wish. CC 2018 has a great addition I noticed, that is previously if we kept the mouse on a tool and wait awhile, a small tool tip would appear, now a small learning point appears instead, it gives you insight on how a tool will work. Ahh so… That’s new for me, this is good, it’s great indeed. And… Yes it’s upto you guys, on how you perceive it. If you want the 2018 version, then please visit Adobe’s site, from there at least try the trial version with your Creative Cloud ID. Okay? Alright [clearing throat], so uhh… What things you need to be careful of? Firstly, in Photoshop, like… okay let me explain first, in Illustrator whenever we’ve taken a new file, I never restricted you on what size to take, never! Now, you have to keep in mind that it’s Raster-based software, meaning if we don’t take the right size and later we enlarge it, your artwork will go bad! So make sure that whatever you create, you should know the size. For example, if you’re making a pamphlet, brochure or website, or even mobile app whatever it is, right? You must know it’s correct size first. And then you gotta take a new file based on that size, only if you design. But if you’re just editing a photo, that’s not an issue, at all. You simply open the photo and work, okay? Yes, if you’re printing something or designing any screen, whichever it is, then you have to know its size correctly. So let’s start, I’m creating a new file here. And… These are some recent sizes that I used previously. It’s coming here, okay? And, if you notice up here, you can save it too, meaning if you use any size repeatedly then better you save it. How to do it, we shall see. Some presets of Photos are given- Print, Art & Illustrations, Web, Mobile; if you come to Mobile, presets of various devices are already provided. Alright? Then, I hope you won’t be having problems over here, but still, if you’re using older versions the presets are given there too, though the interface might look different, but that’s okay, no issues at all. So let’s see what’s given here- first of all the file name is shown, better give names, don’t save it “Untitled”! And… If you don’t name at the start, do it while saving okay? I always try to give names properly so that if I have to search later, with the search function on the harddrive I can find out my files. Right? Next it asks- that is Width, and the Height here. Here the units are given, and you can set the measurements you want to use. So let’s keep it in Pixels, here’s a 1000×1000 ratio is already set. Okay here’s the orientations, what’s that? See from here you won’t understand as the width and height are same, let’s say if I set the height at 500, like this, and currently I’m getting the Landscape option, right? And if I click here, notice the width and height gets swapped. Alright? Coming below, here the Resolution is given. Now what’s this? How many pixels are present in one inch. Now see, usually when we design for screens, a fixed thing to keep in mind that you need to go for 72 pixels per inch. And, here pixels-per-centimetre are also specified, though we don’t use it at all. Ahh… Just keep in mind that, if you design for screen- which screen? Anything! Be it computer screen, for website or mobile app, maybe for TV, always go for 72 resolution, right? If you come below, there’s RGB colour mode, and more different colour modes stated. Yes, in Illustrator only RGB and CMYK was present, but here lots of options are available. No tension! We’ll see all these later. For now just keep it on RGB, okay? After that there’s the Bits, showing how much bits your document should be made so no tension here too, just keep it on 8 bits. And… Why 8 bits? Because, the browsers or mobile apps we have, the images showed there be it PNG, JPEG or whatever- those are mostly displayed in 8 bits. So don’t worry. What’s the job of 16 bits, we’ll see later in a more advanced level. Right? So next, here comes Background Condense. Now if you click here, you see the options “White”, “Black”, “Background Color” but no tension if you see only three, you’ll see more options if you scroll down, there’s “Transparent”, even “Custom”; Remember that in older versions of Photoshop you’d get only “White”, “Background Color” and “Transparent”. Okay? So no need to tense, these aren’t that much important, I usually take “White”, if choose “Transparent” we can do it later, nothing problematic. Alright? Some advanced options are here, which of course, is “advance”. I’m not teaching them now, will see later. And let’s simply click this button, create it. Alright one more thing, I’m keeping it in this orientation- 1000×500 pixels, and as I said, you can save presets here; if I want to save, Oops I changed this! Okay… () I again enter 500. And let’s save this. As I save, and… giving it any name- “Imran”, click Save. Now in the Saved option it (the preset) appears. Whenever I want to take this size, I don’t need to be tensed about it, simply I’ll click here and create. Okay dear? So here comes a 1000×500 pixels canvas. Okay, one word I used- “canvas”; in Illustrator we called this work area “Artboard”, now in here we call it as “canvas”. But interesting thing is, recently even in Photoshop the Artboard option has arrived. So if I go to New file, taking the saved preset, see this, if I click on the “Artboard” check, This will turn into an artboard, okay? And, how to make new artboards, how much in total- all will be found inside the created file. See this, as I click here “Artboard 1” appears, written here, but if I got to the previous file, it’s not written there. That means, there the classic Photoshop type is appearing. If you notice, here comes a Background layer, while on the artboard one it shows nothing but “Artboard 1”, and “Layer 1” is written here. Correct? So what’s the difference between these two? We’ll see in a moment, but for now, just keep in mind that we won’t be taking any artboard in new files. So uhh… Now notice an important issue. Some elements you’ve already seen in Illustrator like Zoom in or out, we usually press Ctrl+ (plus) and Ctrl- (minus), like Ctrl- for Zoom out and Ctrl+ for Zoom in. And… Yes, along with that if you press Alt and scroll up, you can Zoom in, if scroll down then Zoom out, right? Bottom here you can observe the keys I press. It’ll be helpful for you. Right? Alright [clearing throat] Now, in Photoshop I created a new file, what to do with it? Now the most important thing let me share, many times my students ask me, “Sir whatever we make, it gets pixelated if we zoom in and see!” Yes of course it’ll happen! Notice above here, presently the file name is titled “Untitled-1 @77.9% RGB 8 bit”. This 77.9% is your zoom level. Whenever you build something you have to check it at 100% then you’ll be aware whether it’s correct, like the edges are present, pixelating or not. But if you zoom in too much then yes, you’ll see pixelations. So yes remember that always check your Raster image artworks at 100% level, so that whether it’s correctly sharpened or not. If blurry or pixelated at 100% then it’s bad, but otherwise no issues, no tension. If you zoom in and check, it’ll surely look bad because it’s Raster. Just like if I check my face’s skin under the microscope, it’ll look like a horrible mountain to me! Right? Exactly, nobody zooms in too much to have a glance! So, many students get too much anxious that “Sir whatever we make, be it JPEG, PNG- it’s getting too pixelated!” When asking when it happens, they reply “We zoomed in and saw it pixelated.” Bro don’t do that! Observe at 100% because wherever used, it’d remain at that size level. PNG and JPEG- these are Raster images, their sole purpose is to be seen at 100% size level. Right? Alright. So now what’ll we see in Photoshop today? First thing, Some tools I’d like to show, number 1 is this Move tool, second is Marquee tool here. Now what’s this Marquee tool? And Move tool? Ahh… See, to make you understand I’ll give some comparisons with Illustrator, like, comparison not in the context of good or bad, rather what things we’ve seen in there and what’s related to here. Right? So first of all, whatever we used to build in Illustrator we would simply select that by clicking, because each object had a separate path there. In here, you don’t have any vector but only Raster, which means we have an area of pixels here, and here we don’t make things individually, for example if you have a photo, nothing is separated there, it’s a complete painted grid of pixels. Right? Now just like that, notice the Selection tool here, we do it like that, means we haven’t selected one object only but just some pixels, or say, in our whole canvas, this part is currently the active area. Now, whatever we’ll work, it’ll remain in this selection only. Okay dear? Apart from Selection, Move tool is used for moving things, But! Just as I said that in Illustrator I never restricted for which size you should take, now you have to be careful about what size to take particularly. Just like in Illustrator I never restrict on taking new layers every time, now I’ll do because as long as you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately. Right? So first of all, keep in mind the very first important matter, that is Layer. Let me share a small thing immediately- as a Brush tool is given here, and if I pick any colour from here, and make this line with the tool. Now remember, this line I painted just above the Background layer. Now if I try to move it with Move tool, it’ll show some errors. Just forget it, not needed now; Just keep in mind that it’s not moving because it’s not a separate object, I just painted the pixels of this Background layer! It’s like I spray-paint the wall behind me, okay? And if I later want to move it elsewhere, won’t be possible just because I permanently painted it! Similarly moving this won’t be possible at all. Second thing, if you really want to move, what’ll you do? We’ll take a new layer from here; here’s the button for it; and now if I paint here, then yes it can be moved with Move tool! Why?! Because it’s a separate thing now! Same as if I mounted a glass on the wall and paint on it, now I can easily move that glass, right?! Glass, similarly imagine the layer as transparent glass, and… we make separate things on top of each. Every object stays detached from each other, so we can move or transform them easily, and if not wanted, easily can delete it. Right? So layers are a great “friend”, please form a good “friendship” with them, just keep in mind that whenever you build new things you’re taking a new layer too, it’s beneficial for you solely; If you don’t want, don’t take, no issues. The problems will happen solely to you too, that “Oh man, I made all in a single layer, now how to separate them?!” It won’t happen then! Please, don’t ask me such weird questions that “Sir I made everything in single layer”… Suffer, regret, tolerate it! Or just rebuild it again! () So if you wanna escape from such toiling, please take a new layer whenever you create. Right? I’m turning my workspace back to Normal. Okay, not necessary you need to go here for workspace, here’s a small icon given, if clicked here shows “Reset Essentials”, you can do it from here too. If you wish, reset it from there too. So that’s not an issue. Okay. Now if I delete this layer, and let’s see what we gotta learn today. Selection and Move tool. And alongside, here’s this thing. [clearing throat] You’ve seen in Illustrator, one was Fill and one was Stroke. In here it’s a bit different, both are colours- one is Foreground and other’s Background. Now, how do we suppose to understand? Ahh… In plain words, at a time you’re like grabbing two colour pencils in both hands! Whenever you wish you can change the colours, for example simply… Oh you must click single time only, yes in Illustrator it was double, here we click only once; just select any colour, from here I take blue and take red for the background. Now you have two colours, and you can swap it. If you want default, what’ll happen? That… the foreground will be black and the background will be white. Right? So whenever you want you can change the colours from here. What’s their purpose? Wait just a while, I’m gonna explain soon. Okay? The first tool I wanna explain is Selection. Okay what is it? As I said, it’s nothing but the active area of your canvas. So just a while ago as you’ve seen, I painted something with the Brush tool. Like this, I make a line here. And I can paint all over the canvas, wherever I want. Right? But! If I select and delete for now, and… let’s say I make this selection, and now I’m gonna paint with the Brush, it won’t be painting outside, because that’s not the active area. As I said before, Selection is the active area of the canvas. So yes, you can paint it whenever you want, and see it’s being painted in this much area only. So Selection, just remember that you’ve activated some part of the canvas. Right? And whatever you work on, it’ll happen in this area. Understand? That’s what Selection is! Okay, let me share some points related to Selection, just as in Illustrator there was a Property bar above it, it’s present here too. Whatever tools you take, the properties will be shown here. So if we look on Selection, notice there’s a default button pressed here and it’s called “New Selection”. Now what’s the purpose of it? Whenever I make a selection and do another, the previous one will vanish. Everytime I click a new selection will be made, right? If you see the bigger one… Okay these buttons must be very familiar to you, you’ve seen in the Pathfinder class too, it’s the same as it. As the Unite button was present, here’s the “Add to Selection”. That means if I create selection now and do another, both will remain, two or three- as I create selections it’ll add with the previous ones. And in fact if I overlap like this, all the selections will be added together, right?! Just like that, if you come across here and here’s given “Subtract from Selection” It means from the selections some areas will be subtracted. Correct dear? And finally here comes “Intersect”. Now what’ll it do is, the selection you already made and the one you’re making now, the common area between them will be remaining, the rest will vanish. So for example, if you see this selection, I select this area, then only this part of the old selection will stay, the one already made I mean. But you know what? These buttons irritate me too much. Why it’s so problematic? Because, I usually forgot that I kept “Add to Selection” pressed on and when I’m progressing on my workflow speedily, suddenly the selection doesn’t building correctly, if I make another then look it’s getting added with the previous ones. And that’s quite irritating! I feel it too bad, I dunno, maybe you’ll feel the same when you’ll work speedily. So I’ll suggest, don’t use them at all!!! Then what to do else? You simply use shortcuts! What are those? For example, if you made a selection and want to add another, press Shift, and make selections. Interestingly, when I press Shift, the button (Add to Selection) automatically gets pressed. Okay? So yes, now whenever you need to add, just press Shift. And it’ll be adding. Right? Similarly, if you wanna subtract, press Alt. Your selections will get minus. Okay? And if intersecting the selections, then yes you gotta press both buttons! Press Alt+Shift and click, it’ll intersect. So I hope you’ve understood the selection by now, but it’s not over yet! After Selection, just beside there’s another option called Feather. Okay so what’s this? Before that I want to explain something else. Number one, ahh… You have this foreground and background colour, correct? As an example, I made a selection and I want to fill this foreground colour here, so one method is this Gradient tool, which contains Paint Bucket, you take it and click here. But trust me, ahh… See, I’ve been sharing much about shortcuts in Photoshop, and, if you have confusion then no problem, you can use the tools too. But shortcuts make the workflow fast, right? Okay, so the shortcut of this Paintbucket to fill colours, better one I mean, we simply do Alt+Backspace, it fills the Foreground colours. Undo-ing it. Now if I want the Background colour; let’s suppose we have two colours, red in foreground and blue in background, If I do Alt+Backspace the Foreground gets filled, undo, and if I wanna fill with Background colour, then it’s Ctrl+Backspace. Correct? And in fact you can do Ctrl+Delete, similarly Alt+Delete you can do. Right? So remember, in many areas of Photoshop, Delete and Backspace do the same job. Right dear? It’s on your keyboard, right? So as you’ve seen, we can make selections and fill with colours, and to fill as I said, Alt+Backspace for Foreground and Ctrl+Backspace for Background. Keep in mind that if there’s a selection present, it’ll fill inside it. If there’s not, it’ll fill the whole layer. Right? Like this. Okay. Another thing let me share, you have only one option for Undo- Ctrl+Z, if you need more undos, you can do Ctrl+Alt+Z. Keep in mind. Like I made this line, then another, yet another and so on. Now if I press Ctrl+Z, it’ll undo only the last line. If press again, it’ll redo. Correct? But if Ctrl+Alt+Z, we’ll continue undo-ing back. Now remember, Ctrl+Alt+Z is not actually undo, but History. What is this, how to handle it, we’ll see everything later. For now just observe, making a selection and pressing Alt+Backspace, it gets filled. We were actually talking about an option given in Property panel, named Feather. If I increase it, currently at zero pixels, let’s say I give it 50 pixels. [clearing throat] Right? And as I make a selection, notice it becomes quite rounded. Now, not actually round, it gets soft. If I fill with Foreground colour, it gets filled like that. Why? Because we’ve enabled Feather. Now… one thing to remember, in the Property bar if you’ve given Feather, then it’s kinda permanent, until you don’t change the value the next selections will have it! See this. Alright? But if you don’t want it permanent, then simply do this- keep it 0, and, whenever you make selections; see I created, filled it, and took new layer. Correct? I build another selection, and I want the Feather here. So to do this, you right-click via Selection tool obviously, and there on the third option is Feather. Now from here you can determine how much Feather you need to put. So let’s suppose, I give it 30 pixels, press Okay, and as I fill it with Background colour via Ctrl+Backspace, look the Feather has already come! Okay, now the intriguing thing is, the next selection I’ll make, that’ll come out sharp as before. So we don’t have problems, that as we gave Feather it’ll continue further, it’s not like that at all. Just keep in mind that whenever you need Feather, right-click and put that from there. Now, again remember that the right-click I’m doing is from Selection tool itself, correct? And, the options you see here, all belong to Selection tool, okay? If we take any other tools, upon right-clicking different things will be showing up, so make sure you notice which tool you use. See this, as I’m using Brush tool and right-click, you’ll see some Brush options are given. So, make sure you’re in Selection tool and then right-clicking. Correct? From right-click, here we take Feather. So in the current selection, going to Feather I’m giving much less now- 5 pixels. Press Okay, and let’s fill some other colour; here, I take purple, and fill here. See this! If I zoom in and show, then it’s looking quite smooth. Alright? Okay! So see, this one’s Feather is less, that blue one with 50 pixels looks more. I hope you’ve understood till Feather. Ahh… Anyway, notice I made a mistake here, the layer containing green one, I made the purple one there too, now I can’t move them individually and separately. Whenever I move it, these two will move together. So make sure, when you build something, “build” specially, keep it on the next or different layers as a must. Okay dear? Alright, if we need to delete layers, no problem at all, simply come to any layer and drag it here to delete. Second method is simply to press Backspace while remaining on a layer, as you press it the entire layer will be deleted. But only if not made any selections; if yes then only that area will be deleted. But if not, all the layers will be gone. Like this, as I’m pressing Backspace all layers are getting deleted, except the Background one. So the next we see in this tool, is this (dropdown) with options “Normal”, “Fixed Ratio”, “Fixed Size”. Normal is where you can make selections of any size you want, but when keeping on Fixed Ratio, notice by default it’s given 1:1 ratio, that means when I create, it’ll be square-shaped only. Like, it’s a ratio of 1:1, of width and height. If I put 2:1, it’ll become a rectangle. Meaning the width is 2x while the height is 1x. Right? Third option is Fixed Size, it’ll create selection of a fixed size, by default it’s given 64×64 pixels, that means wherever I’ll click or move it it’ll remain as a selection of 64×64 pixels only. I hope you’ve understood it too till now. Anyway, what’s “Selected Mask”, we’ll see later, just forget it for now. In older versions you may see it as “Refine Edge”. Right? So it’s same as that, just more advanced. Now… Coming to Marquee Selection, here the Elliptical Marquee is given. With this you can make round selections. So similarly as in Illustrator we’d make rounds by pressing Shift, it’ll happen here too. Alright? So you can make a round selection just like this, with Shift. And if you wish you can make it oval too. Right? All those things are available here too, right? If I right-click, those same things here, like Feather and Select Inverse. Now what’s this Select Inverse, I’m gonna share. Okay so, the next thing I’ll tell is, like if I make a selection and fill, it’ll be filled inside, but if I right-click and Select Inverse, now it’ll fill the other areas, meaning the outer part of the canvas is active, leaving this inside part. Okay dear? So I hope you’ve understood it too, it wasn’t so tough anyway. Select Inverse, you’ve got it. There’s a third option- Deselect. Now what’ll it do? Removing selection. It has a shortcut too- Ctrl+D. No matter how many selections you make, just press Ctrl+D and it’ll be removed. D for Deselect, right? Ahh… Remember, Illustrator’s Ctrl+D was different, in here too. Understand? Okay, so utilizing all these when we build something, what’ll it be? For example, I wish to use any picture. Let’s go for Unsplash. Keep in mind this great website- unsplash.com. And, you can download stock images from here, these are all free images, you can use them in even your commercial projects. So, it’s quite a fabulous and helpful website, and be sure to visit, https://www.unsplash.com you can use images from here for your practice. So uh, let’s just download some images and see what we can do with it, I’m gonna use this picture, so simply click Download from here, and it’ll be downloaded here. Keep in mind these are quite high-quality images, with much higher resolution, okay? So from Show Folder, dragging this image into Photoshop. Now it’s an important point to think- where to drop it while dragging. If you already have a file opened, and drop the image right here then it’ll add just inside the file. But if you want not to add here but rather in a separate file, I pressed Esc; simply drag again and drop it on the Menu bar this time. So once you do it, another file will be opened. One more thing to remember, the small image you’re seeing, it’s not that small! As I said, always observe at 100% level to check the actual quality of your image. Currently it’s 8.33%, that means it’s a humongous sized image! If I press Ctrl+1 it’ll show at 100% level. See this, it’s the actual size of the image, quite giant it is! So I’m zooming out, and let’s go and take a new layer. And from here I’m making a selection- Elliptical Marquee. Like this. Okay? And right-clicking, I’m giving it a Feather. Now remember, be it 5 or 50 pixels, this Feather won’t work on this image, it’s a much larger image! So I’ll add much more Feather here, so let’s say I add approx. 200 pixels. Correct dear? Press Okay, and right-clicking I choose Select Inverse. Keep in mind, first I make selection, then give Feather and then do Select Inverse. New layer I already took, and now I’m filling it with black colour, meaning as here the default colours coming- Foreground black and Background white, if I press Alt+Backspace, the black colour will be filled here. See this! Ahh… A fairly simple frame, created here. And I hope you all loved it. So not necessary that you fill with black; undo-ing it, now give it white if you wish. See this? And, this kind of things you must’ve seen in many images, so your first photo editing is done. Now, what was the reason behind taking different layer? Just because, if I don’t like it, I can change it anytime or even remove it. Correct? And if you would’ve filled on this layer, which you can, nobody’s stopping you, but you’ll be facing the problem- see, this time I’m giving more Feather, so let’s go for like 400 pixels, remember why I’m giving so much? Because the image is too large, but for smaller images I’ll give less Feather, like 40 or 50 pixels, okay? Alright! Giving the Feather and Select Inverse, and going to a new layer… Sorry (), I mean if I fill it here, notice the problem that’ll occur. It becomes a permanent change, now I can’t move, make it lighter or even delete. Yes I can surely undo, but if you save the file and close, it’ll be permanently changed. So please please please! Always preserve your original images, meaning always keep a backup, and better work on layers, not on original images. You’ll have the freedom to change it anytime and correct it. So again I took a new layer and fill it white. See this! We’ve filled a beautiful shade of white colour here, and it looks fading from the edges. Now yeah, I’m deducing this class of mine is being stretched too long, but trust me, these are minute details which lots of people face problems with, and they can’t understand. By the way the shortcuts I talked about, I’ll be sharing in classes parallelly, you can note it down if you wish. And ahh… Not necessary you get dependent on shortcuts, if you can’t remember, don’t worry! You can change it from menus or options. Just as I shared on Select Inverse, right-clicking and selecting like that, you’ll find the shortcuts too, see if go to Select menu so notice, Select All- Ctrl+A, Deselect- Ctrl+D, Reselect- Shift+Ctrl+D, and Inverse Select, or Select Inverse as we said, Shift+Ctrl+I. All these shortcuts can be seen in this menu too. So sometimes I keep forgetting shortcuts, just don’t be panicked, don’t be anxious, no problem at all! Just keep in mind that with shortcuts the work gets faster. There’s no guarantee that with shortcuts the work will be good! So good work is more important, fast work not that much. Right? So that’s I always say- quality vs quantity. If you produce quantity, not necessary it’ll be good, but if you produce quality, also not necessary it’ll be large in quantity. Always remember, work at a slow pace, no problem, but do it well. So don’t be anxious about shortcuts; many students gets confused that “Sir how we’ll be able to use so many shortcuts?” and etc. Don’t worry! Go slow, no issues. If you don’t recall shortcuts, the options are provided in the menu already. Everything has a second method to be utilized. So go slow, work well, that’s much more important. The things I shared related to Selection tool, it’s still much less, there are more left yet, but I wish to end this class here for now. I hope you’ve understood it all so far. Keep in mind, it’s only for beginners, for those who already know they might’ve not found much similarities, I’m sorry if yall know already! But I have many students who don’t know about Photoshop at all, This was much much more important for those. Ahh… My classes get stretched sometimes, but I always try to make you understand every detail. Some more things still left in Selection, along with the Rectangle and Elliptical Marquee tools, we’ll learn in more detail later. If I share everything today, it’ll be really too much, you won’t be able to practice! And I hope you loved the class, if yes please give it a like, and subscribe to it if you didn’t yet, and one more thing, please share with your friends dude, Photoshop has been started on my channel! Thank you! ()

By Amjad Izhar
Contact: amjad.izhar@gmail.com
https://amjadizhar.blog

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The provided text is a transcript of an online class instructing beginners on how to use layers in Adobe Photoshop. The instructor, Imran, explains the fundamentals of the layers panel, covering topics such as background layers, normal layers, opacity, and fill. The lesson also explores the different types of locks available for layers, including transparent pixels, image pixels, and position locks. Furthermore, the tutorial goes into blending modes, demonstrating how they affect the interaction of layers, specifically discussing dissolve, multiply, screen, overlay, and color modes. Finally, the lesson briefly reviews searching for layers, creating groups, and copying.

Photoshop Layers: A Comprehensive Study Guide

Quiz: Short Answer Questions

1. What is a background layer in Photoshop, and how does it differ from a normal layer?
2. Explain how to convert a background layer into a normal layer.
3. Describe the function of the Opacity and Fill settings in the Layers panel. What are some situations when you would use Opacity and when you would use Fill?
4. What are the three main types of layer locks, and how does each affect your ability to edit a layer?
5. How do you transform a layer in Photoshop, and what key should you press to maintain proportional scaling during transformation?
6. Explain the function of Blending Modes and provide two specific examples of how they can be used creatively.
7. Describe how the “Multiply” blending mode can be used to remove white backgrounds from images.
8. Explain how the “Screen” blending mode can be used to remove black backgrounds from images.
9. Describe how to create a group of layers and explain the benefits of organizing layers into groups.
10. Explain how to find a specific layer by searching by its name in the Layers panel.

Quiz Answer Key

1. A background layer is the initial layer in a new or opened image, often locked and unmovable. A normal layer is unlocked, allowing for modifications like moving, opacity changes, and transformations.
2. To convert a background layer to a normal layer, double-click on the background layer where it is written. A dialog box will appear, allowing you to rename the layer, and upon clicking “OK,” it becomes a normal layer (Layer 0).
3. Opacity controls the overall transparency of the layer, making everything on the layer more or less visible. Fill affects the transparency of the pixels on the layer but doesn’t affect layer styles. Opacity is good for adjusting the overall visibility, while Fill can be useful when working with layer styles to make color or gradients transparent without affecting the effects.
4. The three main types of layer locks are: Lock Transparent Pixels (prevents painting on transparent areas), Lock Image Pixels (prevents any drawing on the layer), and Lock Position (prevents moving the layer).
5. To transform a layer, select it in the Layers panel and press Ctrl+T (Command+T on Mac) to activate the Transform tool. Press the Shift key while scaling to maintain proportional scaling.
6. Blending Modes change how a layer interacts with the layers beneath it, altering the colors and tones. Multiply removes white and darkens the image, useful for placing dark line art over a background. Screen removes black and lightens the image, useful for placing white designs over a background.
7. The “Multiply” blending mode makes white pixels transparent, allowing the content below the layer to show through. This is useful for removing white backgrounds from line art or sketches.
8. The “Screen” blending mode makes black pixels transparent, allowing the content below the layer to show through. This is useful for placing a white design on a dark or colorful background.
9. To create a group, select multiple layers by clicking while holding Shift or Ctrl (Command on Mac) and then press Ctrl+G (Command+G on Mac). Grouping organizes layers, simplifies moving and copying related elements together, and reduces clutter in the Layers panel.
10. In the Layers panel, there is a search bar at the top. Type the name (or part of the name) of the layer you’re looking for into the search bar, and Photoshop will filter the Layers panel to show only the layers that match your search term.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the importance of layers in Photoshop and how they contribute to non-destructive editing. Provide examples of how layers are used to create complex image manipulations and designs.
2. Compare and contrast the different layer blending modes in Photoshop, explaining how they affect the interaction between layers. Illustrate your answer with specific examples of how different blending modes can be used to achieve various effects.
3. Explain the various layer locking options available in Photoshop and how they can be used to protect and control the elements of a design. Provide specific scenarios where each type of lock would be beneficial.
4. Describe the process of importing images into Photoshop as layers and discuss different methods for positioning and arranging layers within a composition.
5. Discuss the concept of layer opacity and fill in Photoshop, highlighting the similarities and differences between these two settings. Explain how they can be used creatively to create subtle effects and enhance visual designs.

Glossary of Key Terms

• Layer: A single level in a Photoshop file that can contain images, text, or effects, allowing for independent editing and manipulation.
• Background Layer: The default, usually locked, layer that is automatically created when a new Photoshop document is opened.
• Normal Layer: An unlocked layer that can be freely moved, edited, and manipulated with all available Photoshop tools.
• Opacity: A setting that controls the transparency of a layer, allowing you to see through it to the layers below.
• Fill: A setting similar to opacity that controls the transparency of the content on a layer but does not affect layer styles.
• Layer Locking: A feature that prevents certain types of edits to a layer, such as moving, painting, or modifying transparent pixels.
• Transform: To change the size, shape, or orientation of a layer using tools like scaling, rotating, and skewing.
• Blending Modes: Options that determine how a layer interacts with the layers below it, affecting color, brightness, and overall appearance.
• Multiply: A blending mode that darkens the image by multiplying the colors of the selected layer with the colors of the layers below.
• Screen: A blending mode that lightens the image by screening the colors of the selected layer with the colors of the layers below.
• Overlay: A blending mode that combines the effects of Multiply and Screen, darkening dark areas and lightening light areas.
• Hue: A blending mode that applies the color (hue) of a layer to the layers below while retaining their luminance and saturation.
• Group: A container that holds multiple layers, allowing you to organize and manipulate them as a single unit.
• Transparent Pixels: Areas of a layer that have no color or opacity, allowing the layers below to show through.
• Artboard: A canvas-like area within a Photoshop document that allows designers to work on multiple layouts or designs in a single file.
• Blending Options: A more comprehensive set of effects you can apply to a layer.

Photoshop Layers: A Beginner’s Guide

Okay, here’s a briefing document summarizing the key themes and ideas from the provided transcript of the Photoshop tutorial:

Briefing Document: Photoshop Layers Tutorial

Source: Excerpts from “01.pdf” (Transcript of a Photoshop Beginner Series Class #3)

Main Theme: Understanding and utilizing the Layers Panel in Adobe Photoshop. The tutorial aims to demystify layers and demonstrate their fundamental functionalities in a practical, hands-on manner.

Key Concepts and Ideas:

1. Background Layer vs. Normal Layers:

• The tutorial starts by explaining the difference between a “Background Layer” (the default layer when opening an image) and a “Normal Layer.”
• The Background Layer is initially locked and restricted, preventing movement or modification without conversion: “Now this background layer is such a layer that you cannot even move it, you cannot do anything. As soon as you drag it, it says convert to normal layer.”
• Converting the Background Layer to a Normal Layer unlocks its potential, allowing for opacity adjustments, transformations, and other manipulations. Double-clicking the background layer allows conversion.
• Normal layers have accessible options like opacity and are not locked by default, unlike the background layer.

1. Layer Manipulation (Opacity, Fill, Ordering):

• Opacity: Adjusting the opacity of a layer makes it more transparent, allowing underlying layers to show through. “In this you have all the features like you can move it to the right and you can lower its opacity from here so what is the opacity obviously it becomes a little transparent.”
• Fill: While similar to opacity in initial appearance, Fill has different applications which will be covered in more detail when layer styles/blending options are discussed later. “well if you look down in this, then you have an option given to fill, the work of fill is something else…if you understand, then it is exactly like opacity, right, so it is your choice, whether you use opacity or fill, both will have the same work, for now”
• Layer Ordering: Layers can be rearranged in the Layers Panel to control which elements appear on top of others in the image. Dragging layers up or down changes their visual priority.
• Importing Images as Layers: Images can be added as new layers through drag-and-drop or copy-pasting (Control+A, Control+C, Control+V). “…apart from drag and drop, you can also do this, if you are not able to drag and drop, then there is no problem, control A means select all, control C means copy and coming here, control V means paste…”

1. Layer Locking Options:

• Photoshop provides various locking options to protect layers from unwanted modifications:
• Lock Transparent Pixels: Prevents painting or editing on transparent areas of the layer. You can only paint on the existing pixels. “see, the paint is not happening here because all the transparent pixels of this layer are locked…if I paint here, it will be done…”
• Lock Image Pixels: Disables all painting or editing directly on the layer’s content. “…locked image pixels, now as I locked this, see, this also got locked, that means now I cannot draw anything on this layer…”
• Lock Position: Prevents the layer from being moved or transformed. “You cannot move this layer, you cannot transform it…I can work on the entire layer but I cannot move this layer.”
• Lock All: Completely locks the layer, disabling all editing and movement. It makes the layer act like the background layer and deactivates any layer-based modifications. “By lock all, it means that this layer of yours has been totally locked and now you can neither move it nor create anything on it.”
• Auto Nesting Lock (Artboards): The tutorial mentions a lock related to artboards (introduced in later versions of Photoshop) that prevents layers from accidentally moving between or nesting within different artboards. This topic is briefly addressed but not explored in depth due to its complexity for beginner users. “Auto nesting into and out of artboards…this lock was not there even in 2015 because there were no artboards in it”

1. Blending Modes:

• Blending modes control how a layer interacts with the layers beneath it, creating various visual effects.
• The tutorial introduces several key blending modes:
• Dissolve: Turns off random pixels based on the opacity set, creating a grainy or textured look. “as I lower the opacity, it will start turning off some random pixels…here random pixels are turning off…”
• Multiply: Removes white colors, leaving only the darker tones of the layer visible. “…if you want the white color to disappear completely and the black color to remain purely here…you just go and delete the image. We have to multiply it…”
• Screen: Removes black colors, leaving only the lighter tones of the layer visible. “…the black will disappear completely and you will be left with white…”
• Overlay: Combines both dark and light colors, making the image darker where the overlaying layer is black and lighter where it is white. “wherever I had black, my image became dark and wherever I had white, my image became bright from there.”
• Color: Applies the hue and saturation of the blending layer to the base layer, while maintaining the luminosity of the base layer. “…your normal layer was on some blue tone…it will give a blue color to the overall layer…you can even do this, paint on a black and white picture and change its mode color, then it becomes color…”
• The instructor emphasizes that experimenting with different blending modes is crucial to understanding their effects, as the results can be unpredictable based on the colors involved. “you cannot predict what result will come with which colour…it is a bit of a matter of trial and error, you can use where you like it…”
• Inverting colors is done by going to Image -> Adjustments -> Invert, or pressing Control + I. This can be useful to convert blacks to whites to apply blending modes effectively.

1. Layer Management (Searching, Grouping):

• The tutorial demonstrates how to search for specific layers by name or type using the search bar at the top of the Layers Panel.
• Layers can be grouped together into folders for better organization. Selecting multiple layers and pressing Control+G creates a group. “you can create a group by selecting all of them together…control-G will group.”
• Groups can be moved, copied, and manipulated as a single unit. “The advantage of this group is that all the layers in it will remain in one place. You can move it or even copy it.”

Target Audience: Beginners learning Photoshop.

Overall Tone: The tutorial is presented in a friendly and approachable manner, with the instructor using simple language and practical examples to illustrate the concepts.

Key Takeaway: The Layers Panel is the cornerstone of Photoshop, and understanding its features is essential for creating complex and well-organized image edits. Experimentation and practice are encouraged to master the various layer options and blending modes.

Photoshop Layers: FAQs and Essential Techniques

Here are 8 frequently asked questions (FAQs) about working with layers in Adobe Photoshop, based on the provided document.

Q1: What is a background layer in Photoshop, and how does it differ from a normal layer?

A background layer is the default layer you see when you create a new image or open an existing one in Photoshop. It’s initially locked, meaning you can’t move it or directly adjust its opacity. To unlock it and gain full editing capabilities, you need to double-click the background layer in the Layers panel. This converts it into a normal layer (Layer 0, by default), unlocking options like opacity control, blending modes, and the ability to move and transform the layer. A normal layer is not locked by default, allowing for immediate modifications.

Q2: How can I add an image to an existing Photoshop file as a new layer?

There are two primary methods:

1. Drag and Drop: Open the image you want to add. Select the “Move” tool. Click and drag the image from its current window to the tab of your target Photoshop file. Wait for the target file’s canvas to display (you’ll see a white border around it) and release the mouse button to drop the image as a new layer.
2. Copy and Paste: Open the image you want to add. Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac) to select the entire image. Press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac) to copy it. Go to your target Photoshop file and press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac) to paste the image as a new layer.

Q3: What are the different types of layer locks available in Photoshop, and what does each one do?

Photoshop offers several layer lock options, each restricting different aspects of layer editing:

• Lock Transparent Pixels: This prevents you from painting or modifying any of the transparent areas on the layer. You can only paint on the opaque parts of the layer. You can still move the layer.
• Lock Image Pixels: This prevents you from directly painting or making any pixel-level edits to the layer content. You can still move and transform the layer.
• Lock Position: This prevents you from moving the layer, but you can still make edits to its content (unless other locks are also active).
• Lock All: This completely locks the layer, preventing any changes whatsoever, including moving, editing, or adjusting opacity. It essentially behaves like the original background layer before it’s unlocked.
• Auto Nesting into and out of Artboards (CC 2017+): This lock prevents the automatic movement of layers between different Artboards.

Q4: What’s the difference between “Opacity” and “Fill” in the Layers panel?

Initially, “Opacity” and “Fill” may appear to do the same thing: make a layer more transparent. However, the difference lies in how they affect layer styles and blending options. “Opacity” affects the entire layer, including any layer styles applied to it. “Fill” only affects the layer’s content pixels, leaving any applied layer styles at full opacity. The document states they function similarly until Layer Styles or Blending Options are used.

Q5: What are Blending Modes, and how can they be used to modify the appearance of layers?

Blending Modes determine how a layer interacts with the layers below it. They offer various ways to blend the colors and tones of layers, creating a wide range of effects. Some common blending modes include:

• Dissolve: Creates a grainy, pixelated effect by randomly turning off pixels based on opacity.
• Darken Modes (e.g., Multiply): These modes darken the image. Multiply removes white colors, keeping only black tones.
• Lighten Modes (e.g., Screen): These modes lighten the image. Screen removes black colors, keeping only white tones.
• Overlay: Highlights both dark and light colors within an image
• Color: Can be used to color black and white pictures.

The narrator suggests experimenting with different blending modes and using the arrow keys to see which option suits you best.

Q6: How can I remove a white background from an image using blending modes?

The easiest way to remove a purely white background from an image placed on a layer above other content is to change the layer’s blending mode to “Multiply”. This mode makes white pixels transparent, allowing the content beneath to show through, while keeping the black pixels visible.

Q7: How can I invert the colors of a layer?

To invert the colors of a layer (e.g., turning black to white and vice versa), select the layer and press Ctrl+I (Windows) or Cmd+I (Mac), or go to Image > Adjustments > Invert. This will reverse the color values of the pixels on that layer.

Q8: How can I group layers together, and what are the benefits of doing so?

To group layers, select the desired layers in the Layers panel. You can select multiple contiguous layers by clicking on the first layer, holding down the Shift key, and then clicking on the last layer. For non-contiguous layers, click the first layer, hold down the Ctrl/Cmd key, and then click on each additional layer you want to include in the group. Once the layers are selected, press Ctrl+G (Windows) or Cmd+G (Mac) to create a group. Alternatively, click the “Create a new group” icon (folder icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel. Benefits of grouping layers include:

• Organization: Keeps your Layers panel tidy and manageable, especially in complex projects with many layers.
• Collective Transformations: Allows you to move, transform, or apply effects to the entire group as a single unit.
• Copying and Pasting The entire group can be copied and pasted elsewhere.

Photoshop Layers: Management, Blending, and Properties

The Layers panel in Photoshop contains multiple options that allow you to manipulate and organize different elements of an image.

Background Layer:

• When you open an image in Photoshop, it often appears as a background layer which is locked.
• A locked background layer cannot be moved or have its opacity adjusted until it is converted to a normal layer by double-clicking it.
• Once converted to a normal layer, you can rename it and access all the features like opacity control.

Normal Layers:

• Normal layers have all options available, such as opacity and blending modes.
• These layers are not locked and allow for full manipulation.

Moving Images Between Layers/Files:

• You can drag and drop images between files using the move tool.
• Alternatively, you can copy (Control+C) and paste (Control+V) images between files.

Opacity and Fill:

• Opacity adjusts the transparency of a layer.
• Fill also affects transparency, but its full effect is realized with layer styles or blending options.
• For now, opacity and fill can be considered the same.

Locks:

• Lock Transparent Pixels: Prevents painting on transparent areas of the layer.
• When enabled, you can only draw on the non-transparent parts of the layer.
• If transparent pixels are unlocked, using “alt + backspace” will fill the entire layer with color.
• Lock Image Pixels: Prevents any drawing or editing on the layer but still allows moving and transforming it.
• Lock Position: Prevents moving the layer.
• You can work on the layer, but its position remains fixed.
• Lock All: Completely locks the layer, preventing any modifications.
• Disables all features, similar to a background layer.
• Auto Nesting (Artboard): Prevents automatic movement of layers between artboards.
• This lock ensures that when working with multiple artboards, the artwork stays within its intended artboard.

Blending Modes:

• Blending modes affect how layers interact with each other.
• Dissolve: Turns off random pixels as opacity is lowered, creating a grainy effect.
• Multiply: Removes white colors, leaving only the black colors.
• Useful for removing white backgrounds from images.
• Screen: Removes black colors, leaving only the white colors.
• Inverting colors (Control+I) can switch black to white and vice versa, useful with the Screen blending mode.
• Overlay: Highlights both light and dark colors.
• Dark areas become darker, and light areas become lighter.
• Hue: Applies a color tone to the layer.
• Color: Can be used to colorize black and white images.
• Luminous: Retains the colors from the layer below.

Layer Search:

• You can search for layers by name or effect.
• Filter layers by type (image, pixel, adjustment layer, etc.).

Layer Management:

• Delete Layer: Click the layer and delete it.
• Groups:
• You can group layers by selecting them and pressing Control+G.
• Groups act like folders, keeping layers organized.
• Groups can be moved and copied.

Photoshop: Converting Background Layers to Normal Layers

When an image is first opened in Photoshop, it often appears as a background layer, which has certain restrictions. To unlock the full potential for editing, this background layer needs to be converted into a normal layer.

Here’s how you can convert a background layer to a normal layer and the implications of doing so:

• Conversion Process: To convert a background layer into a normal layer, simply double-click on the background layer in the Layers panel. A dialog box will appear, allowing you to rename the layer. Upon clicking “OK”, the background layer is transformed into a normal layer.
• Features of a Normal Layer: Once the layer is converted, it becomes a normal layer, unlocking several features:
• Moveable: The layer can be moved freely within the canvas.
• Opacity Adjustments: You can adjust the opacity of the layer, making it more or less transparent.
• Blending Modes: Access to blending modes, which allow you to change how the layer interacts with the layers beneath it.
• Unlocked: The layer is no longer locked, meaning you can make any modifications you like.

Moving Images Between Layers and Files in Photoshop

To move images between layers or files in Photoshop, you can use the drag-and-drop method. Here’s how:

• Using the Move Tool: Select the move tool in Photoshop.
• Dragging the Image: Click on the image you want to move and drag it.
• Moving Between Files: If you are moving the image to another file, drag the image to the destination file’s tab. Once you hover over the tab, the destination file will open. Then, drag the image onto the canvas of the destination file and release the mouse button to drop the image. A white border around the canvas indicates where you are dropping the image.

Alternatively, you can also copy and paste images between files:

• Copy: Select all (Control+A) the contents of the image you wish to move, and then copy it (Control+C).
• Paste: Go to the destination file and paste (Control+V) the image.

Photoshop: Locking Transparent Pixels in Layers

The Lock Transparent Pixels option in Photoshop’s Layers panel allows you to restrict drawing or painting only to the non-transparent areas of a layer. When this lock is enabled, the transparent pixels of the layer are protected, and you can only modify the parts of the layer that already contain content.

Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

• Functionality: When you lock transparent pixels, you prevent any modifications to the transparent areas of the selected layer. This means you can only draw or paint on the parts of the layer that already have pixels.
• Visual Indicator: A small lock icon appears on the layer in the Layers panel when transparent pixels are locked.
• Use Case: This lock is useful when you want to add details or shading to an object on a layer without accidentally painting outside its boundaries.
• Behavior:
• With transparent pixels locked, attempting to draw on a transparent area will have no effect.
• Drawing on existing, non-transparent pixels will work as expected.
• Filling the Layer: If transparent pixels are unlocked, using “Alt + Backspace” will fill the entire layer with the foreground color, overwriting any existing content. If the transparent pixels are locked, “Alt + Backspace” will only fill the non-transparent pixels.
• Moving and Transforming: Locking transparent pixels does not prevent you from moving or transforming the layer. You can still adjust the position and size of the layer, but you cannot alter its transparent areas.

Photoshop Blending Modes: A Comprehensive Guide

Blending modes in Photoshop are used to determine how layers interact with each other, creating various effects. Here’s a detailed overview of how to use blending modes:

• Accessing Blending Modes: Blending modes are located at the top of the Layers panel. They offer a range of options that change how the selected layer blends with the layers beneath it.
• Types of Blending Modes and Their Uses:
• Dissolve: This mode turns off random pixels as the opacity is lowered, creating a grainy or textured effect. When the opacity is reduced, instead of becoming transparent, random pixels disappear.
• Darken Modes: This set of modes generally produces darker colors or removes lighter colors.
• Multiply: This mode removes white colors, leaving only the black colors. It is useful for removing white backgrounds from images.
• Lighten Modes: These modes generally produce lighter colors or remove darker colors.
• Screen: This mode removes black colors, leaving only the white colors. Inverting the colors (Control+I) can switch black to white and vice versa, which is useful with the Screen blending mode.
• Overlay: This mode highlights both light and dark colors. Dark areas become darker, and light areas become lighter. It makes the image dark where there is black and light where there is white.
• Hue: This mode applies a color tone to the layer. For example, applying a blue hue will give the overall layer a blue tone.
• Color: This mode can be used to colorize black and white images.
• Luminous: This mode retains the colors from the layer below, making them prominent regardless of the color applied on the current layer.
• Practical Applications and Tips:
• Removing White Backgrounds: Use the Multiply blending mode to make white backgrounds disappear, leaving only the darker elements.
• Removing Black Backgrounds: Use the Screen blending mode to remove black backgrounds and keep the white elements.
• Creating Overlays: The Overlay mode is useful for creating effects where both light and dark areas are enhanced.
• Colorizing: Use the Color mode to add specific colors to an image, especially useful for black and white photos.
• Experimentation: Since the results of blending modes can vary based on the colors and content of the layers, it’s often necessary to experiment to achieve the desired effect. You can cycle through different blending modes using the arrow keys to see the results in real-time.
• Non-Predictable Results: Some blending modes produce results that may not be immediately predictable, especially with colored images. Trial and error can help in understanding their effects.

The Original Text

[Music] Assalam Walekum Welcome to GF, a mentor, I am your teacher Imran and today this is our class number three of Photoshop beginner series and today our topic is layers, that is, the layers panel on the right end, some students find it a little scary, a little frightening, but it is not that much of a problem, I had given you guys the idea of ​​layers earlier that layers are very important, let’s see today what other options do we get with layers and how easy the layers panel is, you can find things very easily with great fun, so let’s see, so first of all I am taking a new file from here and see, I am telling you the options of some layers from the very basic point of view and I am telling you the options of this one of 1000, 500, well it does not matter, you can take any size and so let’s suppose here if you see, you have the background, if this is now our focus today is on this panel, the entire layer’s end The first thing that you see is if you take a new image or even open any image, you see this background layer. In this, if I open any image, so let’s suppose I am opening this image and okay, so as soon as I open this image, you can see here in it, here also you have a background layer. Now this background layer is such a layer that you cannot even move it, you cannot do anything. As soon as you drag it, it says convert to normal layer. Now what is this normal layer? Normal layer is such a layer in which all these options like opacity etc. are present. This layer is not locked. Normal layer is locked in this way. Look here, if you notice carefully, there is a small lock, right, so this layer is locked. If instead of this, I take a layer above and suppose I create anything on it and let’s take this yellow color and paint it here. Okay, now as I painted, this layer is a normal layer. In this you have all the features like you can move it to the right and you can lower its opacity from here so what is the opacity obviously it becomes a little transparent okay below this you have the fill given here now this fill etc. is obviously present on it but what if you want that we can use this background layer on top and we can lower the opacity on it then we can simply do this work that double click on it like on the background layer you have to simply double click where it is written and this layer zero will be given its name itself if you want you can change its name you will click ok as soon as you click ok here you have the layer zero converted now see you have all these features and in fact if I want that yes I keep this yellow colour layer of mine below and I keep it on top now why should I keep it on top maybe I wanted to lower its opacity see this and and it is possible that I want to change its I wanted to cut a little, like suppose I selected this much part and deleted it, so now see, it’s a simple thing that I wanted this yellow color below and this layer of mine is coming on top, so yes, this is possible only when you have this normal layer or transparent layer, right after your background layer, which is coming to you and that is your transparent layer, you know, okay, if you see here, now it is not necessary that you create something, you can also bring another image, so let’s bring some other image open and I am opening this image and I am simply dragging it with the move tool to this tab and leaving it here, so what will happen is that simply a copy of it will come to us here, so I dragged this image from here and dropped it here, see, apart from drag and drop, you can also do this, if you are not able to drag and drop, then there is no problem, control A means select all, control C means copy and coming here, control V means paste, so you can also do these things You can do it, it is not necessary that you only do drag and drop, so if you want to do drag and drop, then I will tell you once again that simply you will go to this file and drag and which tool will you use, this move tool, okay, by dragging with this you have to come up on this tab, now come down and see here, you will see a white border on or around your entire canvas, okay, this shows where you are dropping, right, now as soon as you release the mouse button, this image will come here, okay, so it is quite simple, now see here in this, if I am lowering its opacity, then this is happening, okay, well if you look down in this, then you have an option given to fill, the work of fill is something else, when we will see layer styles or blending options, we will not see in today’s class, we will see later, but we will see it is very useful, but for now, if you understand, then it is exactly like opacity, right, so it is your choice, whether you use opacity or fill, both will have the same work, for now Its further work is that we will see in some other class but we will definitely see that if you come here next to it, then you have some locks given, so for example if I lock this one, this is your transparent pixels lock transparent pixels, as soon as I lock it, see, a small lock has been formed here, but in locking it your layer has not been completely locked, you can still move it, okay, you can even transform, now what is transform, how will it happen, if you press control t, then you can transform any layer, so as soon as I pressed control t, see, here you have got this bounding box, now you can make it smaller, you can destroy it like this, so if you do not want to destroy it, then please press shift so that it can be proportionally smaller or bigger, okay, so I proportionally reduced it a little and now brought it here and as soon as you finalize, your editing or transformation is finalized, so please press enter on this now So after pressing enter, now see, its size has become smaller, now see what was the advantage of this lock, as I said, you have locked it, but even after locking, your layer is moving, so let’s say I want to paint something here, see, the paint is not happening here because all the transparent pixels of this layer are locked, yes, of course, if I paint here, it will be done, so this can be done very easily, you can do things like this and the interesting thing is that if your transparent pixels are locked, then you can simply do all back space, so just like the foreground color is filled, you can fill here, and if these transparent pixels of yours are not locked, then if you do all back space, then your entire layer will be filled with color and that image of yours will be gone, okay, so just remember now that locked transparent pixels means all the extra area, that is, if I hide the layer below for a while, then you will see that yes, this entire layer is transparent. Pixels are these, they are locked, so if you come here moving the brush or you are drawing anything with any tool, then you will be able to draw only in that area which is not locked, that means what was locked, only the transparent area, after this if I unlock this and lock this one, so what is this, locked image pixels, now as I locked this, see, this also got locked, that means now I cannot draw anything on this layer, as soon as I try to draw, it is giving me an error that I could not use the brush tool because the layer is locked, but still I can move it, I can transform it and it’s quite easy, it’s just that now you cannot create anything on this layer, okay, next you are coming to this, this will be your locked position, now in this you cannot move this layer, you cannot transform it, I am doing control T, nothing is happening, okay, but remember I had unlocked both of them just now, so that It means that I can work on the entire layer but I cannot move this layer. So, many times we need to work on something but we don’t want to move it. So, we just lock its position. Yes, this can also be done. For example, you said that it should not move and the secondary transparent pixels should be locked. So, now you see, if I am moving the brush, it is happening only in this part and you are not able to move this layer. So, look here, these two types of locks have been added to you. Okay, so now I have unlocked all of them. This is a new lock that has come to you. I guess, this was added since CC 2017. Auto nesting into and out of artboards. Well, it is related to artboard. At this time, there is no artboard in our file. I am stopping it for now. When we will see the artboards, I will definitely tell you guys about it. Otherwise, you guys will get confused. Let it come here. By the way, by the way, this This lock was not there even in 2015 because there were no artboards in it, right, so as far as artboards are concerned, or I think they were, I don’t know, I don’t remember, but it was definitely not there in CS6. In CS6, there were only one or two or four locks. Well, let me tell you the advantage of this artboard is that when we are working on multiple artboards, it should not automatically move to another artboard, it should not get nested. Problems arise sometimes that this artwork was here, it was on this artboard and then it is also in that artboard. It was found that when I removed it from one place, it got removed from the other place as well. So, this is a lock to prevent that nesting. So, right now you guys might get a little confused about this. Just forget it, there is no issue in this. We will look into it later. Now next, you have this lock all. By lock all, it means that this layer of yours has been totally locked and now you can neither move it nor create anything on it. You cannot do anything. It has become exactly like your Opacity means the background layer got locked in the same way and all the features above got disabled so let me tell you one more thing that all your locks are fine apart from this you can lower the opacity etc. in all of them but remember that if you lock all then all your things will also get disabled so I believe you guys must have understood locks very well next we have a very important thing given here see I am actually going from below and will keep coming up now this is we have blending modes in photo photoshop however this thing is also present in illustrator but it is used so much in photoshop on layers in fact apart from layers it is present in many places blending modes so if you understand blending mode here then you will also understand to a great extent wherever it is available in other tools so first of all so see one thing that if I am using this image When I am lowering the opacity, it is becoming more graduated, okay, but if I come from here and change its blending mode, dissolving is happening, so you can control this thing through these options, these are called blending modes, blending options are a different thing, these are blending modes, okay, so if I do dissolving option, there is no problem, yes, if I lower its opacity now, then something different will happen, this is a grainy, noisy result, you are getting the result, now what is happening, if I zoom it a lot and I make its opacity full, then you will understand now that as I lower the opacity, it will start turning off some random pixels, that means see, usually when we lower the opacity, the pixels start turning transparent, here it is not becoming transparent, here random pixels are turning off, so because of which you have a big A very textured kind of result is coming out directly if I zoom out to the right so this is [music] the results that will come out will be like this which is unpredictable because different results are coming with every colour in these yes let me tell you a few things like if you look here it is dark noon you can see here there is a line so this is a complete set which will always be giving you the response of dark colours or will be giving the result of dark colours as soon as I do this you have dark colours and light colours will get removed okay and there is a multiply in it which is being used very intensively if we want to remove white completely now for example I have closed this image and let’s open an image which is a little different this is an image I have taken and although it has transparent pixels I suppose I will make it white and merge it okay how I did the merge is a matter of later control This is a shortcut. No matter how many layers you want to merge, we don’t do it manually. I am doing this only to explain to you that this is such an image which has black and white artwork. There is no other color in it, it is only purely black or purely white. I am bringing this image to this image of mine. Now I have brought it here. Let’s zoom in and see. I want the white color to be completely removed from this image. So if you are thinking that I should select it with the magic wand. Well, it is possible that with the magic wand, you can remove all these contents, etc., and click on white and press delete, then yes it will be done. But sometimes there are some issues. Anyway, this can also be solved. But I want to tell you a very different technique than this. Sometimes we do too much work with these blending modes. Now remember that if you want the white color to disappear completely and the black color to remain purely here, you don’t have to do anything, you just go and delete the image. We have to multiply it [Music] [Music] That’s straight, like here there is a division which is responding to dark colors and this one is responding to light colors, so if I look at light colors, here the screen is at second number, see here the multiply is at second number and in this second portion the screen is at second number, if I zoom in then the black pure will disappear, the black will disappear completely and you will be left with white, so now if you zoom in and see it, then you have simply white color and the black color has completely disappeared, well I will give you a small tip that if I have kept any of your layers in normal mode right now, if you press control I or go to image go to adjustment and you have a given invert, remember this is control I which we were using for selection, it was inverse shift control I this is only for selection but if you do image adjustment and invert then the colors will be inverted, that is black which It will be converted to white and the white will be converted to black. As soon as I click on it or press Control I on the keyboard, okay, what happened is that all the white that was there became black and all the black that was there became white. Now if I screen it, the black will disappear and this design of ours is present in front of you and you must have seen such artworks many times where there is an image at the back and a design is made on top of the white or some times text is placed, right, so I believe you must have understood this and it is a very useful thing. In this, you do not need any selection etc. Many times you simply pick up an image with a sketch or sketch it yourself and it is on a white paper, you simply placed it on top of the image, Control I it means it will be inverted and by multiplying or screening you can show your artwork. If you screen then white will be visible, if you multiply then black will be visible. Now, the third portion in this is highlighting both of yours, meaning both are visible. There are light colours as well as dark colours, so if I overlay it, then look carefully, wherever I had black, my image became dark and wherever I had white, my image became bright from there. If you look very carefully, see this here very clearly you can see that it was black here but the image is visible, all the content inside is visible from everywhere, but what is happening is that where there is black, it becomes dark, where there was white, it becomes light. Now remember, as I said in the beginning, there are so many of these, you cannot predict what result will come with which colour. So, if I bring a coloured image here, then you will get completely different things. I am picking up this image and bringing it here and see this, if I lighten it, then the light result will be coming, if I darken it, then the dark result will be coming, but then again in multiply, a little different colour in burn and different in linear burn and different and so on, but usually what do we do? We are doing that once we click here and by pressing down the arrow keys from the keyboard we are seeing, where we get a satisfactory result we stop there, so there is a bit of guess work involved in this, definitely we cannot call it fixed values, fixed values ​​two three, as I told you guys what dissolve does, everyone knows that as soon as you bring down the opacity, random pixels will go off, you will get a result of a little texture type or green type, what will multiply do, it will make your whites disappear completely, it will keep the blacks and what will screen do, it will make all your blacks disappear and keep the whites in front, right, the third one that I told you is overlay, what is overlay doing that it is showing both, right, b b again, if now you have a colored image, then a little different result is coming, yes, it is a bit of a matter of trial and error, you can use where you like it, but as you practice, you will get a good sense of it and You must be using these blending modes very confidently in creating things. Okay, lastly, there is some difference given here. It is giving very opposite results. Exclusion and then Subtract and Divide. So again, different results must be coming with each color. I am not going to tell you anything or anyone about what result will come from which. I am just telling you that you will get an idea that when you use these, you will start understanding. Now the next thing you have here is Hue. Hue is the color. Look, what is happening is that your normal layer was on some blue tone. That’s right, it will give a blue color to the overall layer. But if you want exactly the same colors, then color it. Now this color will be useful. Many times, we can take its help in coloring black and white pictures. So, for example, if we talk about this layer only, I am taking a new layer from here and here I am wanting I want this apple to become some other color, that means it should become blue. Now I am doing a strange thing, I know, I took the blue color and I made my brush a little smaller and pressed it a little, okay Rat, and I simply started painting on it. Now obviously, you all know that if I color it like this, it will look very bad. So do a very simple thing, make a selection of it. Please, I quickly took this quick selection and started selecting this L. Coming to this layer, I am making the brush bigger, I hope you all remember the previous class well. Okay, so I have selected this L. I will take a little part out of the selection. So I took this selection and I simply came to this new layer and filled it with blue color. Now obviously, it looks so bad that I mean the L has disappeared. You can do this, come from here and put its color mode, which is the blending mode, on color. What will happen is that your L will become blue. Obviously we have many other ways to change its color, very good ways for now, just for my beginners students, this is enough for them, you can even do this, paint on a black and white picture and change its mode color, then it becomes color, so to a large extent you can get your work done with this, Luminous is a bit strange and but what is happening with Luminous is that the color which was below will keep coming, now no matter what your color is from above, for example, even if I make it red, I filled it red, nothing happened, only green came, because actually green was in it, it will keep bringing it in front of you by making it prominent, so anyway don’t worry about this, which you are not able to understand, there is no issue at least right now you can play with multiply screen overlay and color in the beginning, well, okay, so I hope you guys must have understood everything till here, now if you come to the top, then these are some very interesting things placed here. Sometimes it happens that we have a file which has a lot of layers. Now if we want to select or search any of the many layers, then we can do it from here. Like for example, you tell me the name. Let’s say I said layer. As soon as I typed that, I saw that the background layer disappeared. And here the file with the name of the layer is visible. And you can also search by name. Sometimes you can search by some effect, bevel or emoji applied or what, we will see later. But it can also be that you can see the kind that like the image is pixels or rar or your adjustment layer. Now obviously there was no adjustment layer in it. Type layer is not there either. Vector layer is not there either. So whatever it is, you can directly turn it on from here and that particular type of layer will start appearing to you. Remember, in Illustrator, I mean sorry [music] [music], if you want to delete it, then you simply click on it. Go and it will keep asking you if you check ‘Don’t show again’ then it won’t ask you again. I usually keep it on so that if I accidentally click here, my layer doesn’t disappear and I do n’t even know about it. So I always keep it on. The second thing is that if you have a lot of layers, you can create a group by selecting all of them together. What happens in a group is that it becomes a kind of folder. So let’s suppose I selected all these layers, clicked on it, pressed shift and clicked here, these will be selected together. Or you can also do this, I clicked here, pressed control and clicked here and skipped it. If I press control-G, then control-G will group. See, you have a group. The advantage of this group is that all the layers in it will remain in one place. I will also explain it to you in a new file. Let’s say I have this one. Oh sorry, I created it on the background layer itself. Let’s say I have this one and I want to create some more layers. I make circles of different colours on different layers, like this one, I took another layer and let’s take one of these, so don’t worry, I have taken my brush in a blurry way. Now, I selected all these three layers by holding down shift. This, I clicked here, holding down shift, clicked here and control. What is the advantage of this? Now, this is your complete group. You can move it or even copy it. See how the copy will be done. If you drag with alt, it will be copied. Just like in illustrator. And see here, the entire group has been copied. Similarly, not an empty group, you can actually copy the layer as well. In the same way, you will use this move tool with alt and you can move it. So, I hope you guys have understood till now. There are a few things here regarding the group. Let’s stop now. I will definitely explain you in the upcoming classes. That’s all for today’s class. I hope you guys liked it. And if you liked it, then Please like and if you have n’t subscribed then please subscribe thank you [music]

By Amjad Izhar
Contact: amjad.izhar@gmail.com
https://amjadizhar.blog

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The source is a transcript from a GFXMentor Photoshop tutorial aimed at beginners. Instructor Imran introduces the course by emphasizing that while it’s for novices, even experienced users might learn something new. He stresses that Photoshop, as a raster-based software, differs significantly from Illustrator, a vector-based program, and shouldn’t be directly compared. The tutorial covers the interface, basic tools like the Move and Marquee tools, selections, layers, foreground and background colors, and essential shortcuts. Imran underscores the importance of understanding resolution and working non-destructively with layers, advising students to take their time and focus on quality over speed.

GFXMentor’s Photoshop for Beginners: A Study Guide

Quiz

Answer the following questions in 2-3 sentences each.

1. According to Imran, what is the primary difference between Photoshop and Illustrator?
2. What does it mean for Photoshop to be a “Raster-based” software?
3. What resolution (pixels per inch) should you typically use when designing for screens in Photoshop, and why?
4. How do Foreground and Background colors work in Photoshop, and what keyboard shortcuts are used to fill a selection with each?
5. Explain what the Marquee tool does and how selections are used in Photoshop.
6. Why is working with layers crucial in Photoshop?
7. What is the purpose of “Feathering” a selection in Photoshop?
8. What is the difference between using the Feather option in the Property bar versus right-clicking on the image with the selection tool?
9. Describe the function of “Select Inverse” and how it is used.
10. What is the keyboard shortcut to Deselect an active area?

Quiz Answer Key

1. Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels and is primarily used for photo editing, while Illustrator is a vector-based software with different functions that should not be directly compared.
2. Being “Raster-based” means Photoshop relies on pixels to create images. The image quality is dependent on the number of pixels, and enlarging the image can lead to pixelation.
3. You should use 72 pixels per inch when designing for screens because most browsers and mobile apps display images in this resolution.
4. Foreground and Background colors are like having two color pencils that you can easily switch between; Alt+Backspace fills with the Foreground color, while Ctrl+Backspace fills with the Background color.
5. The Marquee tool is used to create selections, which define the active area of the canvas. Any edits or effects applied will only affect the selected area.
6. Working with layers in Photoshop allows you to move, transform, and edit elements independently without affecting other parts of the image. This provides flexibility and non-destructive editing.
7. “Feathering” softens the edges of a selection, creating a blurred or faded effect. It is commonly used to blend selections with their surroundings for a more natural look.
8. Feather in the Property Bar is persistent for future selections until you change it. Feather applied by right-clicking is only applied to that specific selection.
9. “Select Inverse” reverses the selection, activating everything outside the current selection and deactivating the area inside; you can fill the now selected area with a color or effect.
10. The keyboard shortcut to deselect an active area is Ctrl+D.

Essay Questions

1. Discuss the importance of understanding Raster-based images in Photoshop. How do you avoid problems of poor design and what are best practices to avoid the pitfalls of pixelated images?
2. Explain the concept of non-destructive editing in Photoshop and how the use of layers contributes to this workflow. Provide specific examples.
3. Compare and contrast using the selection tools in Photoshop with the selection methods used in Adobe Illustrator, and how the basic principles can be used to enhance your workflow.
4. Describe a scenario where you might use “Select Inverse” in a photo editing project. Explain the steps you would take and the desired outcome.
5. How do the shortcuts discussed in the source material enhance the speed and quality of Photoshop projects?

Glossary of Key Terms

• Raster-based: An image composed of pixels, where image quality depends on the number of pixels; enlarging a raster image can cause pixelation.
• Pixel: The smallest unit of an image on a screen, a tiny square of color.
• Resolution: The number of pixels per inch (PPI) in an image; higher resolution means more detail.
• Canvas: The work area in Photoshop where you create and edit images.
• Artboard: A feature that creates multiple canvases in the same Photoshop document.
• Layer: A transparent sheet on which you can place elements of your design, allowing for independent editing.
• Foreground Color: The primary color used for painting, filling, and stroking.
• Background Color: The secondary color that can be used for various purposes, like filling a background.
• Selection: An active area of the canvas defined by a selection tool, limiting edits to that specific area.
• Marquee Tool: A selection tool used to create rectangular or elliptical selections.
• Feather: A setting that softens the edges of a selection, creating a blurred or faded effect.
• Select Inverse: A command that reverses the selection, selecting everything outside the current selection.
• Deselect: A command that removes any active selection on the canvas.
• Workspace: The arrangement of panels, toolbars, and windows in the Photoshop interface.
• Zoom Level: The magnification level at which you are viewing an image, expressed as a percentage.
• Shortcuts: Keyboard combinations that provide quick access to commands and tools.
• RGB Color Mode: A color model that uses red, green, and blue to create colors; commonly used for screen display.
• CMYK Color Mode: A color model that uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to create colors; commonly used for printing.

GFXMentor: Photoshop for Beginners – Lesson 1 Summary

Okay, here’s a briefing document summarizing the main themes and important ideas from the provided source “01.pdf,” which appears to be a transcript of a beginner’s Photoshop tutorial by “GFXMentor” Imran:

Briefing Document: GFXMentor Photoshop Beginners Training – Lesson 1

Source: Transcript “01.pdf”

Main Themes:

• Introduction to Photoshop for Beginners: The tutorial aims to provide a foundational understanding of Photoshop for individuals with little to no prior experience. Imran emphasizes that advanced topics will be covered later.
• Photoshop vs. Illustrator: A recurring theme is the comparison between Photoshop and Illustrator, both Adobe products. Imran stresses that they are distinct tools with different functions and should not be directly compared.
• Raster-Based Nature of Photoshop: A core concept is that Photoshop is a raster-based software dependent on pixels. This contrasts with Illustrator’s vector-based nature. The implications of this (especially regarding image size and resolution) are repeatedly emphasized.
• Importance of Layers: Layers are presented as a crucial element for non-destructive editing and manipulating individual elements within an image. Imran strongly advises using new layers for every new element to maintain flexibility.
• Selection Tools and Techniques: The tutorial focuses on the Marquee tools (Rectangular and Elliptical) for making selections. It covers various selection techniques like adding, subtracting, intersecting, and feathering selections.
• Shortcuts vs. Quality: While shortcuts are useful for speeding up workflow, Imran emphasizes that quality of work is more important than speed. He encourages beginners not to be overwhelmed by shortcuts and to focus on understanding the fundamental concepts.

Key Ideas and Facts:

• Raster vs. Vector: Photoshop is a raster-based software, meaning it relies on pixels. “Photoshop is actually a Raster-based software. What’s Raster? It is basically dependent on pixels.” This means image quality can degrade if an image is enlarged without proper initial sizing.
• Photo Editing Focus: Initially, Photoshop was primarily designed for photo editing. “At the start Photoshop was created solely to edit photos here.”
• Interface Similarities & Differences: While the interface may resemble Illustrator due to both being Adobe products, their functions are different. It covers customizing the workspace and resetting it if needed (Window>>Workspace).
• Version: The tutorial uses Adobe Photoshop CC 2018.
• Image Size and Resolution: Unlike Illustrator, setting the correct image size in Photoshop is crucial from the beginning because of its raster nature. “Now, you have to keep in mind that it’s Raster-based software, meaning if we don’t take the right size and later we enlarge it, your artwork will go bad!” For screen design, a resolution of 72 pixels per inch is recommended.
• Color Mode: RGB color mode is the starting point.
• Canvas vs. Artboard: The work area in Photoshop is traditionally called a “canvas,” but the “Artboard” option is now available.
• Zoom Level and 100% View: It’s crucial to check artwork at 100% zoom level to accurately assess sharpness and pixelation. “Whenever you build something you have to check it at 100% then you’ll be aware whether it’s correct, like the edges are present, pixelating or not.”
• Layers are Essential: Working with layers is highly recommended for flexibility and non-destructive editing. “Just like in Illustrator I never restrict on taking new layers every time, now I’ll do because as long as you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately.” Layers are compared to transparent glass sheets.
• Foreground and Background Colors: Photoshop uses foreground and background colors instead of Fill and Stroke in Illustrator.
• Selection Tools:The Marquee tool selects an active area of pixels. “Now, whatever we’ll work, it’ll remain in this selection only.”
• Selection options include New Selection, Add to Selection (Shift), Subtract from Selection (Alt), and Intersect (Alt+Shift).
• Feathering softens the edges of a selection. It can be set in the Property bar or via right-click -> Feather.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection.
• Deselect (Ctrl+D) removes the selection.
• Filling Selections: Alt+Backspace fills with the foreground color, and Ctrl+Backspace fills with the background color.
• Undo and History: Ctrl+Z undoes the last action, while Ctrl+Alt+Z steps back through the history.
• Image Source: Unsplash (unsplash.com) is recommended for free stock images.
• Importing Images: Dragging an image into an existing Photoshop file adds it to that file. Dragging it onto the Menu bar opens it in a new file.

Quotes:

• “Please don’t compare them, I’ve told the same back when I started Illustrator training. Even today I repeat, you really can’t compare them. Because both have different functions for different works.” (Regarding Photoshop and Illustrator)
• “So layers are a great ‘friend’, please form a good ‘friendship’ with them, just keep in mind that whenever you build new things you’re taking a new layer too, it’s beneficial for you solely.” (Emphasis on Layers)
• “Bro don’t do that! Observe at 100% because wherever used, it’d remain at that size level. PNG and JPEG- these are Raster images, their sole purpose is to be seen at 100% size level.” (Checking Image Quality)

Overall Impression:

The tutorial provides a clear and accessible introduction to Photoshop for absolute beginners. The instructor uses relatable analogies and emphasizes practical tips, but it may get long due to the depth of explanation for each element and tool. The contrast between Photoshop and Illustrator and the importance of understanding raster-based images are key takeaways.

Frequently Asked Questions About Getting Started with Photoshop (Based on GFXMentor’s Beginner Training)

Question 1: What is Photoshop, and what is it primarily used for?

Photoshop is a raster-based software program primarily used for photo editing. Raster-based means it works with images made up of pixels. While its initial focus was on photo editing (like removing blemishes or altering appearances), it has expanded to handle various design tasks.

Question 2: How is Photoshop different from Illustrator, and why shouldn’t I compare them directly?

Photoshop and Illustrator, while both from Adobe, serve different purposes. Photoshop is a raster-based program that manipulates pixels within an image. Illustrator is a vector-based program that creates scalable graphics using mathematical equations. You shouldn’t compare them directly because they are designed for distinct types of work, and comparing them is like comparing apples to oranges.

Question 3: Why is it important to consider the size of the file when starting a new project in Photoshop?

Because Photoshop is raster-based, image quality is dependent on resolution. Unlike vector graphics, raster images don’t scale up well. If you start with an incorrect or too small of size and then enlarge it later, the artwork can become pixelated and lose quality. Therefore, it’s important to start with the correct dimensions for your intended use (print, web, etc.). When simply editing a photo, size isn’t an issue.

Question 4: What resolution should I use when creating images for screens (websites, mobile apps, etc.)?

When designing for screens (computer monitors, websites, mobile apps, TVs), a resolution of 72 pixels per inch (PPI) is generally recommended. This resolution is suitable for digital displays and helps optimize file size for online use.

Question 5: What are layers, and why are they crucial when working in Photoshop?

Layers are like transparent sheets stacked on top of each other. Each layer can contain different elements of your design. They are crucial because they allow you to work on individual elements separately without affecting the rest of the image. This makes it easy to move, edit, and delete elements independently. Working without layers can lead to difficulty in making changes later on.

Question 6: What is the “Selection” tool used for, and how does it affect the work I do in Photoshop?

The Selection tool (like the Marquee tool) defines an active area on your canvas. Any actions you take, such as painting or filling with color, will only affect the selected area. Think of it as isolating a specific portion of your image to work on, leaving the rest untouched.

Question 7: What is “Feathering,” and how can I use it with selections?

Feathering softens the edges of a selection, creating a gradual transition between the selected area and the surrounding pixels. You can apply feathering using the “Feather” option in the Properties bar (for permanent change) or by right-clicking inside the selection and choosing “Feather” (for a one-time effect). It’s useful for creating soft-edged shapes or blending elements together seamlessly. Remember to adjust the pixel amount depending on the size of your image.

Question 8: What are some useful keyboard shortcuts for beginners in Photoshop?

Some helpful shortcuts mentioned are:

• Zoom In: Ctrl + (plus) or Alt + Scroll Up
• Zoom Out: Ctrl – (minus) or Alt + Scroll Down
• Fill with Foreground Color: Alt + Backspace
• Fill with Background Color: Ctrl + Backspace
• Deselect: Ctrl + D
• Undo: Ctrl + Z
• Multiple Undos (History): Ctrl + Alt + Z

Photoshop Basics: Interface, Tools, Layers, and Selections

Here’s an overview of Photoshop basics, according to the provided source:

• Photoshop is a raster-based software dependent on pixels.
• Initially, Photoshop was mainly used for photo editing.
• The version of Photoshop used in the source is Adobe Photoshop CC 2018.
• Similarities exist between Photoshop and Illustrator because both are made by Adobe, but their functions differ.

Key Interface Elements and Tools:

• The toolbar is on the left side, and panels are on the right.
• The interface can be customized by pulling out panels and arranging them as desired.
• If the interface is altered, it can be reset to its previous state by going to Window>>Workspace and doing Reset.
• The Move tool and Marquee tool are fundamental.

Creating a New File:

• When creating a new file, it is important to know the correct size to avoid artwork degradation upon enlargement.
• Presets are available for Photos, Print, Art & Illustrations, Web, and Mobile.
• It is advisable to name files properly for easy searching.
• You can adjust Width, Height, Resolution, Color Mode, and Background Content.
• Resolution for screen design should be 72 pixels per inch.
• It is recommended to keep the color mode on RGB and the bit depth at 8 bits for web and mobile applications.
• “Canvas” is the term used for the work area in Photoshop.
• Using Ctrl+ (plus) and Ctrl- (minus) or Alt and scrolling can zoom in and out.

Working with Layers:

• Layers are a crucial aspect. Working on different layers allows you to move or transform elements separately.
• Taking a new layer can be done by clicking the new layer button.
• Layers can be imagined as transparent glass sheets stacked on top of each other, where each object stays detached, and can be moved or transformed easily.

Selections:

• Selections define the active area of the canvas.
• The Marquee tool is used for making selections.
• The “New Selection” option makes each new selection replace the previous one.
• To add to a selection, press Shift while making the selection.
• To subtract from a selection, press Alt.
• To intersect selections, press Alt+Shift.
• To fill a selection with the foreground color, use Alt+Backspace. To fill with the background color, use Ctrl+Backspace.

Feather Option:

• The Feather option softens the edges of a selection.
• To apply Feather temporarily, right-click with the Selection tool and choose Feather.

Other Selection Options:

• Normal mode allows selections of any size.
• Fixed Ratio mode creates selections with a fixed width-to-height ratio.
• Fixed Size mode creates selections of a fixed pixel size.
• Elliptical Marquee tool is used to make round selections. Press Shift to make a perfect circle.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection, activating the outer part of the canvas instead of the inner part.
• Deselect removes the selection. The shortcut is Ctrl+D.

Image Usage:

• It is important to work on layers to preserve original images and retain the ability to make changes.
• Stock images can be downloaded from websites like unsplash.com for practice.

Raster Image Characteristics in Photoshop

Here’s a discussion of raster images, based on the source:

• Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels.
• With raster images, it’s important to consider image size when creating a new file in Photoshop. If the image size isn’t right and it’s enlarged later, the artwork quality will decrease.
• When working with raster images, it is important to observe the image at 100% zoom to check its sharpness and avoid being concerned about pixelation when zoomed in excessively. PNG and JPEG are raster image formats designed to be viewed at a 100% size level.
• In raster images, you don’t create things individually; instead, you work with an area of pixels.

The source also mentions that a video will be made to properly explain the differences between raster and vector images.

Photoshop Selection Tool: A Comprehensive Guide

Here’s a discussion of the Selection tool in Photoshop, according to the provided source and our conversation history:

• The Selection tool is used to define the active area of the canvas. When a selection is active, any work done will only affect that selected area.
• The Marquee tool is a tool for making selections.
• When using the Selection tool, a property bar appears with various options. These options include:
• New Selection: Each new selection replaces the previous one.
• Add to Selection: Holding Shift while selecting adds to the existing selection.
• Subtract from Selection: Holding Alt subtracts from the existing selection.
• Intersect: Holding Alt+Shift will select the intersecting area.
• Feather softens the edges of a selection. To apply Feather temporarily, right-click with the Selection tool and choose Feather.
• Different modes for the Selection tool:
• Normal: Allows selections of any size.
• Fixed Ratio: Creates selections with a fixed width-to-height ratio.
• Fixed Size: Creates selections of a fixed pixel size.
• The Elliptical Marquee tool is used to make round selections. Press Shift to make a perfect circle.
• Select Inverse inverts the selection, activating the outer part of the canvas instead of the inner part.
• Deselect removes the selection. The shortcut is Ctrl+D.
• To fill a selection with the foreground color, use Alt+Backspace. To fill with the background color, use Ctrl+Backspace.
• As Photoshop is a raster-based software that relies on pixels, selections involve working with areas of pixels rather than individual objects.

Photoshop Layers: A Comprehensive Guide

Here’s a discussion of Layers in Photoshop, according to the provided source:

• Layers are a crucial aspect of working in Photoshop. Working on different layers allows you to move or transform elements separately.
• Taking a new layer can be done by clicking the new layer button.
• Layers can be imagined as transparent glass sheets stacked on top of each other, where each object stays detached, and can be moved or transformed easily.
• It is beneficial to take a new layer whenever new things are built. If you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately.
• If all work is done on a single layer, separating elements later becomes impossible.
• When an element is painted directly onto the Background layer (without creating a new layer), it becomes part of that layer and cannot be moved independently.
• If you fill an image without taking a new layer, it becomes a permanent change.
• Working on layers helps preserve original images and retain the ability to make changes.
• To delete a layer, select the layer and drag it to the delete icon or press Backspace (unless a selection is active, in which case only the selected area will be deleted).

Photoshop Image Editing Guide

Here’s a discussion of image editing in Photoshop, according to the provided source and our conversation history:

• Photoshop was initially created solely to edit photos.
• Image editing often involves tasks like removing blemishes.
• When editing images in Photoshop, it’s important to work with layers to preserve the original image and allow for flexible modifications.
• You can download stock images from sites like unsplash.com for practice. These images are free and can be used for commercial projects.
• When incorporating an image into Photoshop, you can either add it to an existing file or open it as a separate file by dragging and dropping it onto the menu bar.
• It’s important to observe the image at 100% zoom to check its actual quality.
• Selections can be used to isolate specific areas of an image for editing. The Feather option can create soft edges. You can also invert a selection so that you are editing everything outside the selection.
• To fill a selection with color, use Alt+Backspace to fill with the foreground color or Ctrl+Backspace to fill with the background color.
• Remember that Photoshop is a raster-based software, and enlarging images excessively can lead to pixelation.
• Always save a backup copy of your original images.

Aasalamu Alaikum, welcome to GFXMentor, I’m your teacher Imran. And from today we’re starting Photoshop beginner’s training. And yes many people are wondering, “Hey, will Sir only teach Beginners, not Advanced?” Of course I will, everything I’ll teach. But at the start, all the students and well-wishers of mine, if they don’t know anything about Photoshop, then it’ll be very helpful for them. But as it’s a beginners training, doesn’t mean those who know already won’t watch at all, of course watch it, because maybe you can learn more new things! Now first of all, before I start let me tell you some things, if you’ve already seen my Illustrator training and know about it, then, at first keep in mind, don’t try to find Illustrator in this software! You’ll become confused. Right? No. 2, some elements might be similar to Illustrator, just because these are made by the same company- Adobe. So the interfaces should be looking similar. Ahh… Some elements that are commonly used, definitely as we progress I’ll tell you gradually. But but but! Please don’t say Illustrator was good, Photoshop isn’t; or Photoshop was good, Illustrator isn’t. Please don’t compare them, I’ve told the same back when I started Illustrator training. Even today I repeat, you really can’t compare them. Because both have different functions for different works. Now what’s Photoshop for, that’s the important point. Photoshop is actually a Raster-based software. What’s Raster? It is basically dependent on pixels. Inshallah I’ll make a short video, explaining the differences properly, about the differences between Raster and Vector, you’ll understand them well. Now, “Photoshop”- from the name itself it seems to be related to photos, so yes! At the start Photoshop was created solely to edit photos here. Now what’s editing? For example we take a picture and it has problems like my face has lots of marks and blemishes, I often use Photoshop to remove them, many people do so. Ahh… When did I start using Photoshop? Well, as everyone knows I have around 17-18 years of experience, but I started Photoshop literally older than that period; I couldn’t do well that much. Yes one hobby I had, like everyone even when I was small, I used to paste my face on Salman Khan’s body, although I’m not a bodybuilder! () But, ahh… These hobbies I had, then I used to think “Yes I know Photoshop well! Fabulous things here, it’s so easy!” But when I understood, I realised that the front-end of Photoshop is nothing, lots of things are hidden in the backend! So definitely, when progressing to the Advanced techniques, we shall see that. Right? So, umm… C’mon let’s start! Okay so first of all, an interface you’re seeing here, must be too familiar, just like in Illustrator. But yes, as I said it’s made by Adobe too so you’ll see the similarities in their interfaces but the works are different. The version I’m using is Adobe Photoshop CC 2018. And… Yes let me share some things, usually when you install newly a welcome screen is shown, my one seems vanished, ran away, angry at me maybe, I dunno where did it go! () But that’s okay no problem, I didn’t need that much anyway, it’d kinda irritate me, my Photoshop would get a bit slow as it’d come at start, then we could proceed. But yes, anyways. This is your Photoshop, okay? In Illustrator you had the toolbars on the left side, similarly it’s here too. On the right side if you notice, some panels are given, time to time you’ll get different panels. Ahh, just in case let me tell you, if anythings vanishes from the interface, or if you make any such changes, remember anytime you can design the interface as you wish. You can pull out any panel and stick with each other. And whatever convenient you feel, you can keep on the front, things you don’t need, you just remove them. No problem. When you’re done setting up your interface, you’ll go to Window>>Workspace and from here you can save new workspace. I won’t be doing it now. However if everything vanishes away, understand? And you be like, “Sir our tools ran away and we did like removing this Property panel or whatever…” if disappears… totally fine! No problem at all, simply go to Window>>Workspace, and do Reset. If I use Essentials; I usually utilize it initially, this is a good starting point; and if you click Reset then all your elements will return back to their previous places. Right? Okay [clearing throat] I usually… okay if you see the toolbar, here two tiny arrows are given, if you click it it’ll show into double columns. If you wish you can keep it in a single column or double. My habit is to keep it in double column usually. Because from the very beginning it’d be double-columned in Photoshop so I’ve become habituated to it, but then it’s okay, you can change it as you wish. CC 2018 has a great addition I noticed, that is previously if we kept the mouse on a tool and wait awhile, a small tool tip would appear, now a small learning point appears instead, it gives you insight on how a tool will work. Ahh so… That’s new for me, this is good, it’s great indeed. And… Yes it’s upto you guys, on how you perceive it. If you want the 2018 version, then please visit Adobe’s site, from there at least try the trial version with your Creative Cloud ID. Okay? Alright [clearing throat], so uhh… What things you need to be careful of? Firstly, in Photoshop, like… okay let me explain first, in Illustrator whenever we’ve taken a new file, I never restricted you on what size to take, never! Now, you have to keep in mind that it’s Raster-based software, meaning if we don’t take the right size and later we enlarge it, your artwork will go bad! So make sure that whatever you create, you should know the size. For example, if you’re making a pamphlet, brochure or website, or even mobile app whatever it is, right? You must know it’s correct size first. And then you gotta take a new file based on that size, only if you design. But if you’re just editing a photo, that’s not an issue, at all. You simply open the photo and work, okay? Yes, if you’re printing something or designing any screen, whichever it is, then you have to know its size correctly. So let’s start, I’m creating a new file here. And… These are some recent sizes that I used previously. It’s coming here, okay? And, if you notice up here, you can save it too, meaning if you use any size repeatedly then better you save it. How to do it, we shall see. Some presets of Photos are given- Print, Art & Illustrations, Web, Mobile; if you come to Mobile, presets of various devices are already provided. Alright? Then, I hope you won’t be having problems over here, but still, if you’re using older versions the presets are given there too, though the interface might look different, but that’s okay, no issues at all. So let’s see what’s given here- first of all the file name is shown, better give names, don’t save it “Untitled”! And… If you don’t name at the start, do it while saving okay? I always try to give names properly so that if I have to search later, with the search function on the harddrive I can find out my files. Right? Next it asks- that is Width, and the Height here. Here the units are given, and you can set the measurements you want to use. So let’s keep it in Pixels, here’s a 1000×1000 ratio is already set. Okay here’s the orientations, what’s that? See from here you won’t understand as the width and height are same, let’s say if I set the height at 500, like this, and currently I’m getting the Landscape option, right? And if I click here, notice the width and height gets swapped. Alright? Coming below, here the Resolution is given. Now what’s this? How many pixels are present in one inch. Now see, usually when we design for screens, a fixed thing to keep in mind that you need to go for 72 pixels per inch. And, here pixels-per-centimetre are also specified, though we don’t use it at all. Ahh… Just keep in mind that, if you design for screen- which screen? Anything! Be it computer screen, for website or mobile app, maybe for TV, always go for 72 resolution, right? If you come below, there’s RGB colour mode, and more different colour modes stated. Yes, in Illustrator only RGB and CMYK was present, but here lots of options are available. No tension! We’ll see all these later. For now just keep it on RGB, okay? After that there’s the Bits, showing how much bits your document should be made so no tension here too, just keep it on 8 bits. And… Why 8 bits? Because, the browsers or mobile apps we have, the images showed there be it PNG, JPEG or whatever- those are mostly displayed in 8 bits. So don’t worry. What’s the job of 16 bits, we’ll see later in a more advanced level. Right? So next, here comes Background Condense. Now if you click here, you see the options “White”, “Black”, “Background Color” but no tension if you see only three, you’ll see more options if you scroll down, there’s “Transparent”, even “Custom”; Remember that in older versions of Photoshop you’d get only “White”, “Background Color” and “Transparent”. Okay? So no need to tense, these aren’t that much important, I usually take “White”, if choose “Transparent” we can do it later, nothing problematic. Alright? Some advanced options are here, which of course, is “advance”. I’m not teaching them now, will see later. And let’s simply click this button, create it. Alright one more thing, I’m keeping it in this orientation- 1000×500 pixels, and as I said, you can save presets here; if I want to save, Oops I changed this! Okay… () I again enter 500. And let’s save this. As I save, and… giving it any name- “Imran”, click Save. Now in the Saved option it (the preset) appears. Whenever I want to take this size, I don’t need to be tensed about it, simply I’ll click here and create. Okay dear? So here comes a 1000×500 pixels canvas. Okay, one word I used- “canvas”; in Illustrator we called this work area “Artboard”, now in here we call it as “canvas”. But interesting thing is, recently even in Photoshop the Artboard option has arrived. So if I go to New file, taking the saved preset, see this, if I click on the “Artboard” check, This will turn into an artboard, okay? And, how to make new artboards, how much in total- all will be found inside the created file. See this, as I click here “Artboard 1” appears, written here, but if I got to the previous file, it’s not written there. That means, there the classic Photoshop type is appearing. If you notice, here comes a Background layer, while on the artboard one it shows nothing but “Artboard 1”, and “Layer 1” is written here. Correct? So what’s the difference between these two? We’ll see in a moment, but for now, just keep in mind that we won’t be taking any artboard in new files. So uhh… Now notice an important issue. Some elements you’ve already seen in Illustrator like Zoom in or out, we usually press Ctrl+ (plus) and Ctrl- (minus), like Ctrl- for Zoom out and Ctrl+ for Zoom in. And… Yes, along with that if you press Alt and scroll up, you can Zoom in, if scroll down then Zoom out, right? Bottom here you can observe the keys I press. It’ll be helpful for you. Right? Alright [clearing throat] Now, in Photoshop I created a new file, what to do with it? Now the most important thing let me share, many times my students ask me, “Sir whatever we make, it gets pixelated if we zoom in and see!” Yes of course it’ll happen! Notice above here, presently the file name is titled “Untitled-1 @77.9% RGB 8 bit”. This 77.9% is your zoom level. Whenever you build something you have to check it at 100% then you’ll be aware whether it’s correct, like the edges are present, pixelating or not. But if you zoom in too much then yes, you’ll see pixelations. So yes remember that always check your Raster image artworks at 100% level, so that whether it’s correctly sharpened or not. If blurry or pixelated at 100% then it’s bad, but otherwise no issues, no tension. If you zoom in and check, it’ll surely look bad because it’s Raster. Just like if I check my face’s skin under the microscope, it’ll look like a horrible mountain to me! Right? Exactly, nobody zooms in too much to have a glance! So, many students get too much anxious that “Sir whatever we make, be it JPEG, PNG- it’s getting too pixelated!” When asking when it happens, they reply “We zoomed in and saw it pixelated.” Bro don’t do that! Observe at 100% because wherever used, it’d remain at that size level. PNG and JPEG- these are Raster images, their sole purpose is to be seen at 100% size level. Right? Alright. So now what’ll we see in Photoshop today? First thing, Some tools I’d like to show, number 1 is this Move tool, second is Marquee tool here. Now what’s this Marquee tool? And Move tool? Ahh… See, to make you understand I’ll give some comparisons with Illustrator, like, comparison not in the context of good or bad, rather what things we’ve seen in there and what’s related to here. Right? So first of all, whatever we used to build in Illustrator we would simply select that by clicking, because each object had a separate path there. In here, you don’t have any vector but only Raster, which means we have an area of pixels here, and here we don’t make things individually, for example if you have a photo, nothing is separated there, it’s a complete painted grid of pixels. Right? Now just like that, notice the Selection tool here, we do it like that, means we haven’t selected one object only but just some pixels, or say, in our whole canvas, this part is currently the active area. Now, whatever we’ll work, it’ll remain in this selection only. Okay dear? Apart from Selection, Move tool is used for moving things, But! Just as I said that in Illustrator I never restricted for which size you should take, now you have to be careful about what size to take particularly. Just like in Illustrator I never restrict on taking new layers every time, now I’ll do because as long as you don’t work on different layers you can’t move or transform them separately. Right? So first of all, keep in mind the very first important matter, that is Layer. Let me share a small thing immediately- as a Brush tool is given here, and if I pick any colour from here, and make this line with the tool. Now remember, this line I painted just above the Background layer. Now if I try to move it with Move tool, it’ll show some errors. Just forget it, not needed now; Just keep in mind that it’s not moving because it’s not a separate object, I just painted the pixels of this Background layer! It’s like I spray-paint the wall behind me, okay? And if I later want to move it elsewhere, won’t be possible just because I permanently painted it! Similarly moving this won’t be possible at all. Second thing, if you really want to move, what’ll you do? We’ll take a new layer from here; here’s the button for it; and now if I paint here, then yes it can be moved with Move tool! Why?! Because it’s a separate thing now! Same as if I mounted a glass on the wall and paint on it, now I can easily move that glass, right?! Glass, similarly imagine the layer as transparent glass, and… we make separate things on top of each. Every object stays detached from each other, so we can move or transform them easily, and if not wanted, easily can delete it. Right? So layers are a great “friend”, please form a good “friendship” with them, just keep in mind that whenever you build new things you’re taking a new layer too, it’s beneficial for you solely; If you don’t want, don’t take, no issues. The problems will happen solely to you too, that “Oh man, I made all in a single layer, now how to separate them?!” It won’t happen then! Please, don’t ask me such weird questions that “Sir I made everything in single layer”… Suffer, regret, tolerate it! Or just rebuild it again! () So if you wanna escape from such toiling, please take a new layer whenever you create. Right? I’m turning my workspace back to Normal. Okay, not necessary you need to go here for workspace, here’s a small icon given, if clicked here shows “Reset Essentials”, you can do it from here too. If you wish, reset it from there too. So that’s not an issue. Okay. Now if I delete this layer, and let’s see what we gotta learn today. Selection and Move tool. And alongside, here’s this thing. [clearing throat] You’ve seen in Illustrator, one was Fill and one was Stroke. In here it’s a bit different, both are colours- one is Foreground and other’s Background. Now, how do we suppose to understand? Ahh… In plain words, at a time you’re like grabbing two colour pencils in both hands! Whenever you wish you can change the colours, for example simply… Oh you must click single time only, yes in Illustrator it was double, here we click only once; just select any colour, from here I take blue and take red for the background. Now you have two colours, and you can swap it. If you want default, what’ll happen? That… the foreground will be black and the background will be white. Right? So whenever you want you can change the colours from here. What’s their purpose? Wait just a while, I’m gonna explain soon. Okay? The first tool I wanna explain is Selection. Okay what is it? As I said, it’s nothing but the active area of your canvas. So just a while ago as you’ve seen, I painted something with the Brush tool. Like this, I make a line here. And I can paint all over the canvas, wherever I want. Right? But! If I select and delete for now, and… let’s say I make this selection, and now I’m gonna paint with the Brush, it won’t be painting outside, because that’s not the active area. As I said before, Selection is the active area of the canvas. So yes, you can paint it whenever you want, and see it’s being painted in this much area only. So Selection, just remember that you’ve activated some part of the canvas. Right? And whatever you work on, it’ll happen in this area. Understand? That’s what Selection is! Okay, let me share some points related to Selection, just as in Illustrator there was a Property bar above it, it’s present here too. Whatever tools you take, the properties will be shown here. So if we look on Selection, notice there’s a default button pressed here and it’s called “New Selection”. Now what’s the purpose of it? Whenever I make a selection and do another, the previous one will vanish. Everytime I click a new selection will be made, right? If you see the bigger one… Okay these buttons must be very familiar to you, you’ve seen in the Pathfinder class too, it’s the same as it. As the Unite button was present, here’s the “Add to Selection”. That means if I create selection now and do another, both will remain, two or three- as I create selections it’ll add with the previous ones. And in fact if I overlap like this, all the selections will be added together, right?! Just like that, if you come across here and here’s given “Subtract from Selection” It means from the selections some areas will be subtracted. Correct dear? And finally here comes “Intersect”. Now what’ll it do is, the selection you already made and the one you’re making now, the common area between them will be remaining, the rest will vanish. So for example, if you see this selection, I select this area, then only this part of the old selection will stay, the one already made I mean. But you know what? These buttons irritate me too much. Why it’s so problematic? Because, I usually forgot that I kept “Add to Selection” pressed on and when I’m progressing on my workflow speedily, suddenly the selection doesn’t building correctly, if I make another then look it’s getting added with the previous ones. And that’s quite irritating! I feel it too bad, I dunno, maybe you’ll feel the same when you’ll work speedily. So I’ll suggest, don’t use them at all!!! Then what to do else? You simply use shortcuts! What are those? For example, if you made a selection and want to add another, press Shift, and make selections. Interestingly, when I press Shift, the button (Add to Selection) automatically gets pressed. Okay? So yes, now whenever you need to add, just press Shift. And it’ll be adding. Right? Similarly, if you wanna subtract, press Alt. Your selections will get minus. Okay? And if intersecting the selections, then yes you gotta press both buttons! Press Alt+Shift and click, it’ll intersect. So I hope you’ve understood the selection by now, but it’s not over yet! After Selection, just beside there’s another option called Feather. Okay so what’s this? Before that I want to explain something else. Number one, ahh… You have this foreground and background colour, correct? As an example, I made a selection and I want to fill this foreground colour here, so one method is this Gradient tool, which contains Paint Bucket, you take it and click here. But trust me, ahh… See, I’ve been sharing much about shortcuts in Photoshop, and, if you have confusion then no problem, you can use the tools too. But shortcuts make the workflow fast, right? Okay, so the shortcut of this Paintbucket to fill colours, better one I mean, we simply do Alt+Backspace, it fills the Foreground colours. Undo-ing it. Now if I want the Background colour; let’s suppose we have two colours, red in foreground and blue in background, If I do Alt+Backspace the Foreground gets filled, undo, and if I wanna fill with Background colour, then it’s Ctrl+Backspace. Correct? And in fact you can do Ctrl+Delete, similarly Alt+Delete you can do. Right? So remember, in many areas of Photoshop, Delete and Backspace do the same job. Right dear? It’s on your keyboard, right? So as you’ve seen, we can make selections and fill with colours, and to fill as I said, Alt+Backspace for Foreground and Ctrl+Backspace for Background. Keep in mind that if there’s a selection present, it’ll fill inside it. If there’s not, it’ll fill the whole layer. Right? Like this. Okay. Another thing let me share, you have only one option for Undo- Ctrl+Z, if you need more undos, you can do Ctrl+Alt+Z. Keep in mind. Like I made this line, then another, yet another and so on. Now if I press Ctrl+Z, it’ll undo only the last line. If press again, it’ll redo. Correct? But if Ctrl+Alt+Z, we’ll continue undo-ing back. Now remember, Ctrl+Alt+Z is not actually undo, but History. What is this, how to handle it, we’ll see everything later. For now just observe, making a selection and pressing Alt+Backspace, it gets filled. We were actually talking about an option given in Property panel, named Feather. If I increase it, currently at zero pixels, let’s say I give it 50 pixels. [clearing throat] Right? And as I make a selection, notice it becomes quite rounded. Now, not actually round, it gets soft. If I fill with Foreground colour, it gets filled like that. Why? Because we’ve enabled Feather. Now… one thing to remember, in the Property bar if you’ve given Feather, then it’s kinda permanent, until you don’t change the value the next selections will have it! See this. Alright? But if you don’t want it permanent, then simply do this- keep it 0, and, whenever you make selections; see I created, filled it, and took new layer. Correct? I build another selection, and I want the Feather here. So to do this, you right-click via Selection tool obviously, and there on the third option is Feather. Now from here you can determine how much Feather you need to put. So let’s suppose, I give it 30 pixels, press Okay, and as I fill it with Background colour via Ctrl+Backspace, look the Feather has already come! Okay, now the intriguing thing is, the next selection I’ll make, that’ll come out sharp as before. So we don’t have problems, that as we gave Feather it’ll continue further, it’s not like that at all. Just keep in mind that whenever you need Feather, right-click and put that from there. Now, again remember that the right-click I’m doing is from Selection tool itself, correct? And, the options you see here, all belong to Selection tool, okay? If we take any other tools, upon right-clicking different things will be showing up, so make sure you notice which tool you use. See this, as I’m using Brush tool and right-click, you’ll see some Brush options are given. So, make sure you’re in Selection tool and then right-clicking. Correct? From right-click, here we take Feather. So in the current selection, going to Feather I’m giving much less now- 5 pixels. Press Okay, and let’s fill some other colour; here, I take purple, and fill here. See this! If I zoom in and show, then it’s looking quite smooth. Alright? Okay! So see, this one’s Feather is less, that blue one with 50 pixels looks more. I hope you’ve understood till Feather. Ahh… Anyway, notice I made a mistake here, the layer containing green one, I made the purple one there too, now I can’t move them individually and separately. Whenever I move it, these two will move together. So make sure, when you build something, “build” specially, keep it on the next or different layers as a must. Okay dear? Alright, if we need to delete layers, no problem at all, simply come to any layer and drag it here to delete. Second method is simply to press Backspace while remaining on a layer, as you press it the entire layer will be deleted. But only if not made any selections; if yes then only that area will be deleted. But if not, all the layers will be gone. Like this, as I’m pressing Backspace all layers are getting deleted, except the Background one. So the next we see in this tool, is this (dropdown) with options “Normal”, “Fixed Ratio”, “Fixed Size”. Normal is where you can make selections of any size you want, but when keeping on Fixed Ratio, notice by default it’s given 1:1 ratio, that means when I create, it’ll be square-shaped only. Like, it’s a ratio of 1:1, of width and height. If I put 2:1, it’ll become a rectangle. Meaning the width is 2x while the height is 1x. Right? Third option is Fixed Size, it’ll create selection of a fixed size, by default it’s given 64×64 pixels, that means wherever I’ll click or move it it’ll remain as a selection of 64×64 pixels only. I hope you’ve understood it too till now. Anyway, what’s “Selected Mask”, we’ll see later, just forget it for now. In older versions you may see it as “Refine Edge”. Right? So it’s same as that, just more advanced. Now… Coming to Marquee Selection, here the Elliptical Marquee is given. With this you can make round selections. So similarly as in Illustrator we’d make rounds by pressing Shift, it’ll happen here too. Alright? So you can make a round selection just like this, with Shift. And if you wish you can make it oval too. Right? All those things are available here too, right? If I right-click, those same things here, like Feather and Select Inverse. Now what’s this Select Inverse, I’m gonna share. Okay so, the next thing I’ll tell is, like if I make a selection and fill, it’ll be filled inside, but if I right-click and Select Inverse, now it’ll fill the other areas, meaning the outer part of the canvas is active, leaving this inside part. Okay dear? So I hope you’ve understood it too, it wasn’t so tough anyway. Select Inverse, you’ve got it. There’s a third option- Deselect. Now what’ll it do? Removing selection. It has a shortcut too- Ctrl+D. No matter how many selections you make, just press Ctrl+D and it’ll be removed. D for Deselect, right? Ahh… Remember, Illustrator’s Ctrl+D was different, in here too. Understand? Okay, so utilizing all these when we build something, what’ll it be? For example, I wish to use any picture. Let’s go for Unsplash. Keep in mind this great website- unsplash.com. And, you can download stock images from here, these are all free images, you can use them in even your commercial projects. So, it’s quite a fabulous and helpful website, and be sure to visit, https://www.unsplash.com you can use images from here for your practice. So uh, let’s just download some images and see what we can do with it, I’m gonna use this picture, so simply click Download from here, and it’ll be downloaded here. Keep in mind these are quite high-quality images, with much higher resolution, okay? So from Show Folder, dragging this image into Photoshop. Now it’s an important point to think- where to drop it while dragging. If you already have a file opened, and drop the image right here then it’ll add just inside the file. But if you want not to add here but rather in a separate file, I pressed Esc; simply drag again and drop it on the Menu bar this time. So once you do it, another file will be opened. One more thing to remember, the small image you’re seeing, it’s not that small! As I said, always observe at 100% level to check the actual quality of your image. Currently it’s 8.33%, that means it’s a humongous sized image! If I press Ctrl+1 it’ll show at 100% level. See this, it’s the actual size of the image, quite giant it is! So I’m zooming out, and let’s go and take a new layer. And from here I’m making a selection- Elliptical Marquee. Like this. Okay? And right-clicking, I’m giving it a Feather. Now remember, be it 5 or 50 pixels, this Feather won’t work on this image, it’s a much larger image! So I’ll add much more Feather here, so let’s say I add approx. 200 pixels. Correct dear? Press Okay, and right-clicking I choose Select Inverse. Keep in mind, first I make selection, then give Feather and then do Select Inverse. New layer I already took, and now I’m filling it with black colour, meaning as here the default colours coming- Foreground black and Background white, if I press Alt+Backspace, the black colour will be filled here. See this! Ahh… A fairly simple frame, created here. And I hope you all loved it. So not necessary that you fill with black; undo-ing it, now give it white if you wish. See this? And, this kind of things you must’ve seen in many images, so your first photo editing is done. Now, what was the reason behind taking different layer? Just because, if I don’t like it, I can change it anytime or even remove it. Correct? And if you would’ve filled on this layer, which you can, nobody’s stopping you, but you’ll be facing the problem- see, this time I’m giving more Feather, so let’s go for like 400 pixels, remember why I’m giving so much? Because the image is too large, but for smaller images I’ll give less Feather, like 40 or 50 pixels, okay? Alright! Giving the Feather and Select Inverse, and going to a new layer… Sorry (), I mean if I fill it here, notice the problem that’ll occur. It becomes a permanent change, now I can’t move, make it lighter or even delete. Yes I can surely undo, but if you save the file and close, it’ll be permanently changed. So please please please! Always preserve your original images, meaning always keep a backup, and better work on layers, not on original images. You’ll have the freedom to change it anytime and correct it. So again I took a new layer and fill it white. See this! We’ve filled a beautiful shade of white colour here, and it looks fading from the edges. Now yeah, I’m deducing this class of mine is being stretched too long, but trust me, these are minute details which lots of people face problems with, and they can’t understand. By the way the shortcuts I talked about, I’ll be sharing in classes parallelly, you can note it down if you wish. And ahh… Not necessary you get dependent on shortcuts, if you can’t remember, don’t worry! You can change it from menus or options. Just as I shared on Select Inverse, right-clicking and selecting like that, you’ll find the shortcuts too, see if go to Select menu so notice, Select All- Ctrl+A, Deselect- Ctrl+D, Reselect- Shift+Ctrl+D, and Inverse Select, or Select Inverse as we said, Shift+Ctrl+I. All these shortcuts can be seen in this menu too. So sometimes I keep forgetting shortcuts, just don’t be panicked, don’t be anxious, no problem at all! Just keep in mind that with shortcuts the work gets faster. There’s no guarantee that with shortcuts the work will be good! So good work is more important, fast work not that much. Right? So that’s I always say- quality vs quantity. If you produce quantity, not necessary it’ll be good, but if you produce quality, also not necessary it’ll be large in quantity. Always remember, work at a slow pace, no problem, but do it well. So don’t be anxious about shortcuts; many students gets confused that “Sir how we’ll be able to use so many shortcuts?” and etc. Don’t worry! Go slow, no issues. If you don’t recall shortcuts, the options are provided in the menu already. Everything has a second method to be utilized. So go slow, work well, that’s much more important. The things I shared related to Selection tool, it’s still much less, there are more left yet, but I wish to end this class here for now. I hope you’ve understood it all so far. Keep in mind, it’s only for beginners, for those who already know they might’ve not found much similarities, I’m sorry if yall know already! But I have many students who don’t know about Photoshop at all, This was much much more important for those. Ahh… My classes get stretched sometimes, but I always try to make you understand every detail. Some more things still left in Selection, along with the Rectangle and Elliptical Marquee tools, we’ll learn in more detail later. If I share everything today, it’ll be really too much, you won’t be able to practice! And I hope you loved the class, if yes please give it a like, and subscribe to it if you didn’t yet, and one more thing, please share with your friends dude, Photoshop has been started on my channel! Thank you! ()

By Amjad Izhar
Contact: amjad.izhar@gmail.com
https://amjadizhar.blog

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