Course Ouline

Understanding Photoshop issues

• Introduction to the interface
• Understanding resolution
• Looking at the differences between raster and vector artwork

Overview of the toolbox

• Overview of the menus
• Organising the palettes
• Using the navigator palette
• Changing views and displays 
• Setting preferences
• Rotate view (CS4 only)
• Pixel grid (CS4 only)
• File display options  (CS4 only)

Using various selection techniques

• Adding and removing selections
• Inverting and modifying selections
• Feathering and moving selections
• Saving and loading selections
• Working with quick mask

Colour theory

• Working with different colour models and modes
• Using custom colours
• Picking colour
• Analysing and editing colour
• Looking at gamut issues
• Creating duotones
• Looking at colour correctionissues
• Setting colour balance
• Setting hue and saturation
• Adjusting brightness and contrast
• Using the levels option
• Using curves and variations
• Working with histograms

Retouching images

• Colour range & replace colour feature
• Cropping images
• Using the pencil, the paintbrush and the airbrush tools
• Defining your own brushes
• Customising brushes
• Using the smudge tool
• Using the clone stamp tool
• Using the spot healing brush
• Customising the tools
• Using the eraser tool
• Working with the dodge and burn toning tools
• Using the sharpen and blur focus tools
• Removing dust and scratches
• Content-aware scaling (CS4 only)

Using the history palette

• Using the history brush
• Creating images

Working with layers

• Creating new layers
• Selecting and deleting layers
• Flattening layers
• Merging and linking layers
• Ordering layers
• Pasting into layers
• Creating adjustment layers
• Adjustment panel (CS4 only)
• Creating layer masks
• Masks panel (CS4 only)
• Exploring channels
• Montaging images

Adding filters and effects

• Adding lighting effects
• Exploring and using filters
• Vanishing point filter to move, copy and clone in perspective

Creating gradients and patterns

• Creating and editing gradients
• Saving and loading gradients
• Creating transparent gradients
• Creating and editing patterns
• Using the pattern stamp tool

Adding and manipulating type

• Using type mask tool
• Special effects with type
• Rasterizing type

Clipping paths

• Creating clipping paths
• Understanding bezier paths
• Using anchor points
• Manipulating direction lines
• Exporting clipping paths

Saving images

• Exporting images for print and the web
• Understanding file formats
• Understanding compression
• Printing settings