Gradients

The gradient tool is useful to blend two colours together smoothly.

Gradient Tool

Pick colour and drag gradient tool on canvas.

Colours to be blended on both ends can be chosen using the gradient editor.

Black and red gradient.

Different types of gradient can be chosen on the options bar.

Chosen gradient linear and applied it.

Brushes

Brushes Panel

Pick the desired brush using the "Brush Preset Picker"

Pick colour and drag the brush on the canvas.

Colours

"Colours also have strange powers, with each color evoking different emotional responses."

Learned

1. The Essentials of Colour

• Hue
• Saturation
• Lightness

2. The Emotional Effects of Colour

For example how RED creates feelings of caution and warning while BLUE radiates professionalism and trust. 

3. Colour Relationships 

"The color wheel is a great way to start looking at the way colours interact. Because the wheel shows color relationships, it becomes an invaluable help in choosing colors to paint or design with."

It's easier to use the right combination of colours that fit in with each other in my design by understanding this.

4. Colour Picker

Desired colour can be chosen using the colour picker by adjusting the hue, saturation and lightness.

By moving the hue bar, I've selected blue.

Colours can also be picked by changing the colour values at the side of the colour picker. Values can be entered for the RGB model, CYMK model and the Hexadecimal colors.

Last but not least, colours can also be chosen from the "Swatches" panel.

Design Inspiration: Common Projects

I'm a minimalist by nature. I value content, function and simple aesthetics. I'm also a connoisseur of streetwear fashion and I find inspiration through the creativity shown by designers and the business practises shown by the industry. Shoes above are made by one of my favourite brand, "Common Projects".

Their shoes are made from the highest quality material and manufactured with the best of techniques. It's their signature style of having no branding being apparent on the shoes, with only numbers indicating size and model subtly at the sides. Letting the silhouette of the shoes shine without all the distraction.

People tend to forget that a product or design must serve its function before everything else and not overdo things. This is my design perspective.

Fashion changes, style does not. 

Layers

"Layers are perhaps the most critical element of Photoshop and can greatly increase your efficiency and the quality of your final product. Your ability to use Photoshop well will largely depend upon your ability to use layers well."

Learned

1. Creating A New Photoshop Document

• Resolution
• Pixel
• Difference Between  PPI (Pixels per Inch), DPI (Dots per Inch) , LPI (Lines per Inch)

2. Layers

Created new image with white background.

Created 1st layer, named it Blue and made blue lines with brush

Created 2nd layer, named it 'Green' and made green lines with brush.

The usage of layers and it's usability can be seen when you can choose a layer and hide other layers. This makes editing specific parts of image easier.

Layers can be manipulated via the 'Layers' panel.

3. Combining Images

Opened light image as background.

Opened dark image to combine with light image.

Selected dark image and paste it on background image as layer 1.

Repositioned image.

Adjusted opacity to 75% on 'Layers' panel.

Saved the new file.

Finished product. 

Panels

20.06.10

"learning about panels and menus is not the most exciting thing, but understanding the interface is a critical step in becoming a power user. Many self-taught users have a great deal of artistic skill, but find it difficult to become true professionals because they are inept at following workflow basics"

Currently learning 

1. About panels such as the

• tools panel
• menu bar 
• options bar
• application bar
• application frame
• workspaces
• navigator panel

2. Their roles, functions and shortcuts

3. Opening documents as well as tabbed documents

4. Using the zoom tool

Tools of The Trade: Photoshop CS4

"Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems."

I will be using this version of photoshop for the first part of the course. I've toyed with it for quite a bit and I will practice what had been taught in the last lab session after this. So far so good.