Adobe Photoshop CS4 Level 1

This class is for all levels of Adobe Photoshop users. Seasoned users may wish to take this class in order to fill in “holes” in their Photoshop knowledge or to rid themselves of bad Photoshop habits. Students will learn not only about how Photoshop works, but also about many of the new Photoshop CS4 features.

Prerequisite: Computer skills on a Mac or a PC
Length of Workshop: 2 Days

Course Outline

Introduction to Photoshop CS4

• The differences between Photoshop (raster based) & Illustrator (vector based)
• How Photoshop CS4 works with the other programs in the CS4 family
• Resolution: What is the correct PPI for a particular project
• Export file formats: EPS, TIFF, JPEG, BMB, GIF, PDF, PNG
• Using Guides, Grids and Smart Guides in Photoshop CS4

The Adobe CS4 File Bridge

• Working with the File Bridge to view, search, sort, manage, rename and process image files
• How the Bridge works with Illustrator, InDesign & Acrobat files
• Use Flags, Keywords and Editable Metadata within the File Bridge

Color in Photoshop

• The different color modes: RGB, CMYK, Bitmap, Grayscale, Indexed Color & Lab
  Selections
• Making Selections in Photoshop and how it differs from Illustrator
• Using the new Quick Select tool
• Improving edges of selections with the new Refine Edge feature
• Adding to selections, subtracting from selections, and saving selections to an Alpha Channel
• Using Photoshop's Quick Masks to make selections
• Feathering selections to create a soft edge

The History Palette

• The History Palette vs. Undo
• How Photoshop saves Snapshots on the History palette

Working with Layers and Alpha Channels

• Creating new Layers, Layer Sets & reordering the stacking order within the layers palette in Photoshop
• Using the Transform functions to Scale, Rotate, Flip, Skew & Distort
• Linking & Aligning Layers within Photoshop
• Grouping Layers
• How Transforming affects linked layers in Photoshop
• Using Smart Objects to scale Illustrator files without losing quality
• Turning a Photoshop layer into a Smart Object to allow for non‐destructive transformations
• Working with Photoshop's Styles Palette on layers
• Adding individual Layer Styles such as Drop Shadow & using the Contour option
• Introduction to Adjustment Layers using Hue/Saturation
• Layer Modes & how they affect layers underneath in the stacking order
• Using Photoshop's Adjustment Layers

Text in Photoshop

• Working with text as Vector based, as opposed to Raster based
• Creating Warped text
• Using kerning, tracking & other new text features
• Rasterizing Text Layers to turn them from a Vector to a Bitmap Gradients

Gradients

• Creating multiple‐colored gradients including transparent areas in Photoshop
• Working with the Fade feature to use half of a gradient, or even change the color mode of each

Layer Masks

• Introduction to the use of Layer Masks to hide a portion of an image
• Intro to Web Graphics
• What is the best format for my needs?
• Using the Photoshop Save for Web feature for GIF, JPEG and PNG files
• Adjusting images for the web & using the Slice tool
• Dither transparencies to achieve partial transparent effects
• Optimizing web graphics in Photoshop

Intro to Smart Filters

• Turn layers in to Smart Objects for Smart Filtering
  

This class will be taught by Stacy Cates. Stacy Cates, co-author of the Photoshop CS4 Bible, has been in the graphic design and printing industry for more than 20 years. She has been teaching Adobe Photoshop since 2001 and holds Adobe Certified Instructor and Comptia Certified Technical Trainer certifications, as well as a Georgia Institute of Technology Certificate in Web Design. Her teaching experience ranges from training one-on-one to teaching college-level computer art courses. Stacy brings to the classroom knowledge about a wide variety of practical applications for Photoshop. She specializes in using Photoshop to design and prepare images for printing, to color-correct, and to retouch images. Stacy has earned numerous awards for publication design from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

The instructor will go over the differences of CS3 and CS4.

Click here to review course outline.