Architecture case study India Habitat Centre, Delhi.pdf
Print20 slides p4_sections 1&2
1. Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, & InDesign Portfolio
Project 4:
Music CD Artwork
Compositing
images and artwork
Managing layers
Creating complex
selections
Saving Photoshop
files for print
2. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Photoshop: The Graphic Design Portfolio
Types of Images
Vector graphics:
– Mathematically based
– Scaled without loss of quality
Raster images:
– Pixel based
– Resolution determined when
created/captured
Line art:
– Special type of raster image
with only black and white
pixels
3. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Photoshop: The Graphic Design Portfolio
Resolution
Pixels per inch (PPI)
– Number of pixels in a linear
inch
– Fixed when file is
created/captured
Dots per inch (DPI)
– Number of spots created by
an output device
Lines per inch (LPI)
– Number of lines of dots
created in a halftone screen
5. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Photoshop: The Graphic Design Portfolio
History panel
Stores actions since the file was opened
Undo multiple steps
Performance
preferences:
change the
number of
stored actions
6. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Photoshop: The Graphic Design Portfolio
Document Rulers & Guides
View>Rulers
Change default units of measurement:
– Units & Rulers preferences dialog box
– Either ruler’s contextual menu
Drag guides from either ruler
Create specific guides using View>New Guide
7. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Photoshop: The Graphic Design Portfolio
Crop tool
Options bar
– Define size and resolution of cropped image before drawing the crop area
Front Image:
– Use original file size as the height/width and resolution
Clear:
– Draw a crop area without changing the size or resolution of the resulting
cropped image
9. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Photoshop: The Graphic Design Portfolio
Compositing Layers
Copy & Paste
= new layer
Drag from another window
= new layer
File>Place Embedded
= new Smart Object layer linked
to internal embedded file data
File>Place Linked
= new Smart Object layer linked
to external original file
10. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Photoshop: The Graphic Design Portfolio
Move tool
Move the selected layer
Move selected contents on the active layer
Auto-Select option:
– No need to first select target layer before
dragging
– The layer containing the pixel you click is moved
11. Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, & Photoshop: The Graphic Design Portfolio
Layer Basics
Descriptive names
– “Storm” is better than
“Layer 1”
– Only used internally; can be
anything you want
– Grouping for easier
management
This project introduces many of the basic concepts that will be useful in many (if not all) other Photoshop projects — both in this book and in the professional environment.
Opening files, managing layers, making selections, and saving files are all vital skills for any Photoshop artist, regardless of specialty. In this project, students will use these foundational skills to create a complete ad layout for print applications.
Although many people would argue against creating a project such as this entirely in Photoshop, some people do create entire layouts in the application.
While we primarily agree that overall layout is generally better suited to a layout application, the concept of page geometry requirements is also important if a designer is simply trying to create, for example, a full-page background image that will be placed into a page-layout file.
Many novice designers don’t realize that a letter-size ad (for example) must actually be 8.75" x 11.25" to accommodate bleed requirements. We include this discussion in this project so that students will be able to create files at the appropriate size to meet print output requirements, whether created entirely in Photoshop or for placement into another application.
Any designer who works with Photoshop — especially for print applications — needs to understand two foundational principles: the difference between raster images and vector graphics, and the concept of resolution.
Most work in Photoshop will involve raster images; however, the application can also manage vectors on special layers.
The issues discussed at the very beginning of Stage 1 are foundational to every file that a student will open or create in Photoshop. We tried to keep the explanation on Pages 203–204 brief, but it is vitally important to understand these issues before diving into any Photoshop project (especially for commercial print applications).
Although you don’t need to be an expert on commercial print output, designers should understand the different terms related to resolution.
One important point is the confusion between DPI and PPI. Although the two are often used interchangeably, this is incorrect. DPI relates to physical output, while PPI is a factor of the file’s data contents.
Also, keep in mind that LPI is a fixed number determined by the output provider. Designers typically have no input in the LPI for a given job; you need to find out that value and design around it. If unsure, 150 line screen is a safe guess for all but very-high-quality art books and similar projects.
Images for print applications need high enough resolution (as a general rule, 300 ppi) for quality output. When images are captured, especially with consumer-level digital cameras, they are often captured at 72 ppi — but with large enough physical sizes so the principle of effective resolution creates “printable” files.
For example, say a file is captured at 72 ppi and has a physical size of 40" x 25". The file has a total of 2880 x 1800 pixels, with a file size of 14.8 MB.
If the image is resized (not resampled) to 25% or 10" x 6.25", the resolution becomes 288 ppi:
40 / 4 = 10
Or, the image is reduced to one-fourth its original size, so:
72 / 0.25 = 288
Or, the same number of pixels is squashed into one-fourth of the original space. The file size remains 14.8 MB.
If the same image is resampled, Photoshop maintains the same 72-ppi resolution over the new size. The total number of pixels in the file is reduced to 720 x 450, and the file size is reduced to 949.2 K.
The Undo command (Edit>Undo or Command/Control-Z) only steps back to the last single action you completed; after you use the Undo command, it toggles to Redo.
You can also use the Step Backward command (Edit>Step Backward or Command-Option-Z/Control-Alt-Z) to move back in the history one step at a time, or use the History panel to navigate back to earlier stages of your work.
Every action you take is recorded as a state in the History panel. You can click any state to return to that particular point in the document progression. You can also delete specific states or create a new document from a particular state using the buttons at the bottom of the panel.
By default, the History panel stores the last 20 states; older states are automatically deleted. You can change that setting in the Performance pane of the Preferences dialog box. Keep in mind, however, that storing a larger number of states will increase the memory required to work with a specific file.
More detailed information about the History panel is explained on Page 239.
Ruler guides can be useful for marking a specific location, as in this project.
As mentioned at the beginning of this project, designs must adhere to the rules of page geometry. Any element that needs to be printed up to the edge of the page actually needs to extend beyond the edge dimensions by the required bleed allowance.
In the case of this project, the actual page trim size is 10" x 10" but the printer requires a 1/8" bleed allowance. This means the designer must create the file large enough to include the bleed allowance (adding 1/8" to each side). The ruler guides mark the actual page edge to make it easier to place design elements within the actual page area.
Equally important is the live area, which is the area where it is safe to place important design elements. If objects are too close to the trim edge, they might be cut off in the production process. Ruler guides are also useful for marking the live area, making it easier to design within the standards of the production process.
Ruler guides also make it easier to align layers because they can act as magnetic alignment guides. If content does not easily align to guides when dragging content, choose View>Snap To>Guides to make sure that option is checked (toggled on).
When the Crop tool is selected, the Options bar can be used to define the resulting size and resolution of the cropped image.
For example, if you define the width and height of the crop area as 5" x 5" at 300 ppi, when you click and drag to draw, the crop area will be restricted to the same proportions defined in the Width and Height fields (in this example, 1:1, or equal height and width).
Say you draw a crop area that is only 2" x 2". When you finalize the crop, the resulting area will be resized to be 5" x 5". This presents a problem if you remember the principles of resolution.
Enlarging a 2" x 2" area to 5" x 5" means the application needs to create enough pixels to fill in the three extra inches — at 300 ppi, Photoshop needs to create (“interpolate”) more than 900 pixels per linear inch. Although Photoshop can slightly enlarge images with reasonable success, such a significant amount of new data will not result in good quality. As a general rule, you should avoid enlarging raster images, and certainly no more than about 10%.
Complete details about all Crop tool options are explained on Pages 213-214.
After drawing the crop area:
• Click inside the area and drag to reposition. Using the default options, dragging inside the crop area actually moves the image; the crop area remains centered in the document window. You can turn off this behavior by unchecking the Auto Center Preview option in the Set Additional Crop Options menu.
• Drag any area handle to resize the crop area.
In the Options bar:
• Activate the Delete Cropped Pixels checkbox in the Options bar to permanently remove pixels outside the crop area.
• Uncheck this option to maintain pixels outside the crop area. In this case the cropped pixels remain on their respective layers, simply outside the canvas edge.
This is an important distinction — turning off the Delete Cropped Pixels allows you to reposition layers to reveal different parts of the layer within the newly cropped canvas size.
You can use the View menu overlays to preview the crop area according to the Rule of Thirds, with a basic grid, or a variety of other basic design principles.
When you copy and paste, the active selection on the active layer is copied. If there is no active selection marquee, the entire active layer is copied. (Dragging one file into another is effectively the same thing as choosing Edit>Paste.)
In all cases, pasting or placing results in a new layer to contain the new data. The difference is whether the composited content creates a regular layer or a Smart Object layer.
Again, consider what you want before you decide which method to use. For example:
If you open (File>Open) a vector file directly in Photoshop, the vector information in the file is automatically rasterized. You can then copy and paste the rasterized data into a different file to composite.
If you place (using either Place Embedded or Place Linked) a vector file into a Photoshop file rather than opening/rasterizing the vector file in Illustrator, you can open and edit the vector information in Illustrator by choosing Edit Contents in the layer name’s contextual menu (or by simply double-clicking the layer thumbnail).
If there is no active selection area, clicking and dragging with the Move tool moves the contents of the entire active layer.
If there is an active selection area, clicking and dragging moves only the contents of the marquee. This presents a potential problem. When you release the mouse button, the dragged contents remain on their original layer. As long as the selection marquee remains active, you can continue to reposition the selected pixels. However, if you deselect the marquee, anything under the area where you moved the original pixels is permanently overwritten.
If you want to be able to reposition the moved contents at a later time without overwriting pixels of the same layer, it is a better idea to cut the selected area (Edit>Cut), paste it onto a new layer, and then move the new layer. You can also copy the selected contents (Edit>Copy) before pasting; this leaves the selected pixels on the original layer, but also pastes them onto a new layer.
Whenever you switch tools, always check the Options bar. Many options are “sticky” which means they retain the last-used settings. The Auto-Select option is one of those sticky options. If it is checked when it should not be, you could inadvertently move the wrong layer.
Stage 2 of this project focuses on Photoshop layers, one of the most important issues in the entire application.
When you composite multiple images into a single file, the pasted or placed images are each added on new layers. If you paste (or drag) contents onto a new layer, the new layers are simply named “Layer 1”, “Layer 2”, and so on. However, once you have more than a few layers, these names can become confusing. Whenever you create something in a digital design file — a layer, a color swatch, or even the actual file — it is always a good idea to use a meaningful name. This makes it much easier to find exactly what so you can work more efficiently.
Layer groups take the management concept one step farther, because you can combine multiple layers into a single functional unit while still maintaining the individual layers’ autonomy within the group. In other words, you can treat the group as a whole, or you can expand the group to access and affect single layers within the group.
Photoshop offers a number of different types of layers. This project introduces three of those; shape layers, type layers, and adjustment layers will be used in later projects.
A regular layer is simply a layer that contains pixels; areas that do not include defined pixels are transparent, which allows the content of underlying layers to be visible.
A Smart Object layer is actually a link to another file. This enables non-destructive editing in the primary file (where the Smart Object layer exists). Changes in the linked file are automatically reflected in the primary file, but changes to the Smart Object layer in the primary file do not affect the actual data in the linked file.
The background layer exists in any file where you define a background color in the New dialog box, or in a photograph or scan that is captured and then opened in Photoshop. If you remove pixels from the background layer, the defined background color (in the Tools panel) fills in the area of the removed pixels. (Compare this to a regular layer, where removing pixels leaves transparent areas.)
It is important to understand the function of the background layer compared to a regular layer. Carefully review the notes at the bottom of Page 236.
