Scanning, Adjusting Size, Contrast and Colour of Patterns

In this lesson we learned how to scan in an image and make adjustments to it. First, I chose a pattern from my sample book to scan in, which you can see here.

The scanner had to be set to 150dpi resolution and the image saved as a JPEG. Then I opened the scanned image in photoshop and set the crop tool to the size of A5 paper, with a 150 pixels/inch resolution. Once this was done I cropped the image and adjusted the levels to increase contrast. Next, I opened a new Photoshop canvas at A3 size with a 150 pixels/inch resolution. Then I adjusted the hue four times by going to 'Image' then 'Adjust' and then funally 'Hue/Saturation.' Each time I changed the hue, I copied and pasted it onto the A3 canvas, putting them all together. Once all four were pasted, I saved the image as a JPEG and printed it out, so I could later cut them into A5 pieces and add them to my sample book.

Here is the finished result:

Creating Brushes

This lesson we learnt how to make our own brushes in photoshop.

First, we had to choose an image to work with, in my case I chose the butterfly you see above.  Then I had to use the selection tool to select the area around the butterfly. Because my image was too big, I had to size it down. But, once I'd done that I could go to Edit and Define Brush Preset and name it Butterfly Brush. Then, I went to the brush tool and selected my new brush from the pull down menu. Once that was done I could adjust the spacing, shape dynamics, size jitter and angle jitter for my brush, plus alter the hue jitter. Here is my finished result:

I also created a brush from Building Blocks:

And one final brush using an image of my favourite Fate/Stay Night character:

Wood Grain Pattern

This week we learnt how to create a Wood Grain Patterned image in Photoshop.

The first step was to draw an image with duel lines, so it was almost in a stencil fashion. We could go over the lines with a fine liner to darken them if we wanted. Then, we scanned the image in and opened it in Photoshop. If need be, we could use the Levels and Curves tools to adjust the light and dark within the image. Then, we used the bucket tool to fill in where colour was needed.
The next step was to find an image of wood grain and save it. Then we had to desaturate the image by going to Image, Adjustments and then finally Desaturate. Next, I changed the background on Photoshop to a new layer and placed the wood grain layer beneath this layer.
Then I changed the layer's properties to Linear Burn and this was the final result.

Painting In Photoshop

Today we were looking at creating images in Photoshop to look like still life paintings. We were to draw a basic image of an object, in my case a simple cup. Once we scanned the image in and put it on our computer, we opened it in Photoshop. If need be, we could alter the curves or levels to brighten the image or darken the lines. Next, we changed the brushes to Dry Media Brushes and altered the brush's opacity. Then, using the Magic Wand tool we selected the area's of the image we wished to colour. Then it was just a case of layering on the colour the same way you'd layer on paint.
Here's my finished result.

Posterising

For this lesson, we learned how to posterize images. This was the image I chose:

 

The first step was to go to Image, Adjustments and then Posterize. I adjust the levels and decided the posterization looked best with 5 levels. This was the result:

 

Next, I went to Image then Mode and Greyscale to change the image to black and white. Then  I went to Image and Mode again but this time selected Bitmap. I changed the frequency to 35 and got this result:

Then I copied this image by going to Select All and then Edit and Copy. I then used Step Back to return to the posterized image with colour. From here, I pasted the greyscale image on top. Then used the layer tools to change the layer's mode to Overly. That had this effect:

Finally I added a new layer and used the gradient tool with a radial gradient to add a blue and yellow gradient to the image. I moved that layer between the Greyscale layer and the original layer and then changed the opacity to 56% This was my final result:

Graffiti Tag

In this lesson we learned how to create our own Graffiti Tags on Photoshop.

Here's my created tag

The Steps Used to Make It:

First, we had to set the Canvas Size and change the brushes to Calligraphic brushes. We then added a new layer. From that, using the mouse and brush tool, I wrote out a Graffiti tag that I liked. In my case, I used my nickname - Harrie. Then, we had to add a layer style and select 'stroke'. A Layer Style box popped up and from that box I ticked Stroke, Gradient Overlay, Pattern Overlay, Inner Glow, Outer Glow and Inner Shadow. For each one, I was able to adjust things such as the colours to make the tag less boring. Once that was done, I pressed 'Okay' and then opened an image of a brick wall in Photoshop. Finally I dragged the new layer, with my tag on, onto the brick wall using the drag tool.

Silhoutte Work

In this lesson, we learned how to create silhouette images out of an ordinary picture.

Here are the images I used to create my silhouette image:

This was just an image of a tree I found on Google. It made creating the silhouette easier due to the already white background.






And this was just an image of a business man I found on Google.










To create a silhouette out of the tree I used the magic wand tool to select the white background. Then I went to 'select' and 'inverse' which meant I now had the tree selected. Once this was done, I used the bucket tool to change the tree to black and then, with the paintbrush tool and black still selected, I went over the tree's silhouette to cover over any bits the bucket tool missed. Next, with the picture of the man, I used the quick select tool to select him and the paintbrush tool, with black selected, to colour the image black and make him into a silhouette. Next, I dragged the image of the man onto a new layer for the image of the tree, by using the move tool. After I resized him, using 'free transform' and placed him where I wanted him to go, I used the paintbrush tool, with black selected, and created a bit more of a base to the tree, so it didn't look like it was just floating. Then, I created a new layer and placed it beneath the other layers. I used the colour swatch to select a grey-blue colour and then used the fill tool to colour the whole background with it. Next, I selected a smaller size for the paintbrush tool and picked out a lighter grey-blue. I made small, diagonal lines across the whole image, then used 'filter' 'blur' and 'motion blur' the make the lines look as if they were falling in the direction I'd made them go in, hopefully creating the illusion of rain.
Here's my finished image: