Poster

Some of you still owe me the Poster Exercise. You must download it into Edmodo as a JPEG. Remember: a JPEG is one of the most popular file formats used for images. When you convert a Photoshop Document into a JPEG the layers disappear and the file is compressed (squeezed), so it occupies less space in your computer. Right now I need you to keep this Poster both as a PSD (.psd) - Photoshop format (to preserve the layers) and as a JPEG (.jpg) in your computers. You should have a folder for Digital Applications on your desktop or in your Pictures folder. Learn to organize yourself!

I need you to remember the Keyboard Shortcuts (you will have a quiz on these shortcuts) in the very near future. Please check the previous entry.

As I told you on Friday, I need you to create another "Creative Photoshop Exercise." What I mean is: think of something out of the box, really creative. You can take a picture of yourself if you wish using the PhotoBooth in your Mac computer, or simply select images online. Add several images into your background and/or duplicate some images. Change the color of some images. Enlarge or shrink your images. Your background, like the Poster should be 8.5" W by 11" H (inches); it can be as a Portrait (8.5" W x 11" H) or as a Landscape (11" W x 8.5" H) - you decide. You should add at least three images to your Photoshop Canvas or Background. Always duplicate your background, just in case (Command-J or drag to the little icon next to the Trash Can in your Layers Panel).

I need to see good images (with good resolution - good quality images), some filters or blending options (Drop Shadow, or Outer Glow or Stroke, etc.), creativity, images selected properly or improved, etc.

Get creative! If you have any questions, please ask Mrs. Feld.

Welcome class

I'm very happy to be your Digital Applications teacher! We will have a successful and creative year! Please check Edmodo for assignments and other important information. You can check "Fave" Links on the right side of this blog. Little by little I will add more interesting sites.

You will have a short Test on Thursday, September 19. Vocabulary to know: Digital (what is Digital, what is the etymology of the word), Digital Systems, Digital (Computer) Code, Binary Numbers, Bit, Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte. Study Slides 1-20 from the "Digital" PowerPoint and the notes you took in class. Also, you need to be able to tell me some differences between Mac and Windows Computers. Do a little research on both types of computers, check the "Introductions" presentation I posted in Edmodo and feel free to ask me questions in class. And the information on the Puzzles I gave you.

You will start learning Adobe Photoshop CS5, and later you will use the iLife Suite of Products in Macs: iPhoto and iMovie, if possible. You already know how to use iTunes. The good thing is that these applications are "integrated" (the "i" in Mac products) - so you can reach your iTunes Library from iPhoto and iMovie.

iLife is a highly integrated software suite; a family of products made up of programs designed to stand alone or to work together in remarkable ways.

iTunes – is the music software. iPhoto – is the photo software. iMovie – is the video software. 

Photoshop is a powerful image-editing application with a wealth of tools and commands for working on digital images or bitmaps. There are utilities for retouching, color correcting, cropping, rotating, resizing and more. There are also over 90 functional and creative filters, like: blurring, rendering and texturising, that can be applied either to the entire image or selected areas within images to create special effects. 

Filters provide a quick and easy way to change the overall appearance of your image. They provide different visual effects. You can apply more than one filter to your pictures. 

Layers: Photoshop's layers can be thought of as separate films, much like transparency sheets – like a stack of papers, some can be transparent and some not. Image editing and manipulation becomes easy and fun with the use of layers.  The layers can be found on the Layers Panel on the right side (you can go to Window on the Menu Bar and select them – if they are not visible).

The Toolbox or Tool Pane is on the left side of your Photoshop workspace. It provides many different tools that will help you create your own digital art in Photoshop (Adobe Photoshop CS5). Examples of these tools are: The Move Tool, Magnetic Lasso Tool, Magic Wand Tool, Eraser Tool, Crop Tool, Rectangular Marquee Tool, etc.

Photoshop Commands you MUST learn:

Command-O     To find a picture in your computer (Open a document in Photoshop)

Command-N     To create a new Photoshop document.

Command-J     To duplicate a layer or create a layer of a selected item.

Command-D     To deselect (get rid of the intermittent lines after selecting an item with  

                        the Magnetic Lasso Tool).

Command-T     This is called the "Free-Transform Feature," you can use it to enlarge, 

                        shrink or rotate an image (after creating a layer of the image). Press the 

                        Shift-Key while using this feature when shrinking or enlarging the image  
                        - so you don't change the proportions of the image.

Command-U     To open the Hue/Saturation window. To change the color of images, the 

                        saturation or lightness.

Command-Shift-U  To desaturate (convert to black and white) an image.
Command-S     To save a Photoshop document (picture).
Command-Z     To undo the last thing you did.