1st Lesson

[abbews]

Hi all and welcome to my first lesson with you! I hope we will all learn alot and grow artisticly during this course. We are starting this off slow, since I know how lazy students can be
I will be gone on a skiing holiday 27th February to the 6th March. During that time I will have NO computer access, though I will have internet access so I will keep a watch on you with my phone. Subby (please introduce yourself here! ) will keep an eye of you during that time, and help you when you get stuck.

The second lesson will be posted on the 7th March.

General Notes:

• All students should be aware that when using images other than ones provided by Subuatai de Bodemloze or myself MUST be included (or linked provided) in your completed lesson post.
• Lessons will be one week in duration (Exeption for the first lesson). We have taken our own time in setting this up and running this course, se we ask the same of you. All assignments will be due no later than 10 days after we post the lessons. Any late submittals will be treated on a individual basis provided you have justifiable circumstances. We are not Ogres but we would also like to avoid having students one or two lessons behind the bulk of the class.
• We will do our best to post the lessons promptly, but if there is a delay be patient.
• I am at GMT+1 and Subuatai de Bodemloze is GMT-8, please keep that in mind when you pm me 4 times in an hour asking for help... If I don't respond to you, chances are I am sleeping or something.

1.Introduction

Hi all and welcome!

Here comes some short basic descriptions of the most used and most basic tools in Photoshop.



Healing Brush
The Healing Brush tool lets you correct imperfections, causing them to disappear into the surrounding image. The Healing Brush tool matches from sampled pixels to the pixels being healed. As a result, the repaired pixels blend seamlessly into the rest of the image.
Spot Healing Brush
The Spot Healing Brush tool quickly removes imperfections in your photos. The Spot Healing Brush works similarly to the Healing Brush: it paints with sampled pixels from the image. Unlike the Healing Brush, the Spot Healing Brush doesn’t require you to specify a sample spot. The Spot Healing Brush automatically samples from around the retouched area.

Clone Stamp
The Clone Stamp tool paints one part of an image over another part of the same image. You can also paint part of one layer over another layer. The Clone Stamp tool is useful for duplicating objects or removing a defect in an image.

Blur tool

With this tool, when you have a image selected in the layer palette,
just click or drag on the image and it gets blurry, therefore called blur tool.

Sharpen Tool

This tool works the same way as the blur tool, but it doesn't make the pic blurry, but it sharpens it.

Smudge tool

With this tool, you can smudge the pic to create a really cool effect. Works the same way as blur and sharpen tool.

Eraser Tool
The eraser tool is used to erase. Click on the eraser icon and then click on an area you wish to erase.

Dodge tool

With this tool you can lighten up pictures, it works on everything except absolute black. Absolute black wont lighten.

Burn Tool

With this tool you can darken pictures, it works on everything execept absolute white. Absolute white wont darken.

Sponge Tool

With this tool you can absorb the colors of a picture, making the picture more colorless.
If you use it hardly the picture will become black and white.


Brush Tool

With this tool you can brush a shape of your choice, in different sizes and colors. The first and most basic tool in PS.


Gradient Tool
You can use this to make a blending of your foreground color and background color when you click and drag it.
Paint Bucket
The Paint Bucket is the simplest of painting tools. It is used to fill areas with solid colors or patterns.

Crop tool

With this tool, you can select a box shaped part of the image, and the crop it leaving only the area you had selected left.
The unselected part of the image will dissapear.

Text Tool
The Text Tool is used for typing… You can either just click and type or you can drag a box were the text should be.

Pen tool

Pen tool is for creating paths.
Paths can be used in a few different ways, mostly to create clipping paths, or to create selections.
You use the tool by clicking to add a point. If you click and drag, it will change the shape of your path,
allowing you to bend and shape the path for accurate selections and such.

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This lesson is going to be about how to remove the background from a object in a nice and clean way. This is called a render ( an object that has been cut out from its background ). A render is often used in signatures, avatars and the likes, and you probably seen a lot of render signatures here on TWC.

Let’s start shall we.

Lesson 1 - Rendering

2.1. Choosing The Right Picture

All good renders started with an quite big and high quality picture. I recommend the picture to be no smaller than 800x800 because pictures below that size are usually low quality, and rendering a small picture is really hard, almost impossible. And a tip, rendering hair can be very hard.

We also want the picture to have some natural flow in it. The picture should also not be in a lot of different colors, this will help in further classes.

For example, this picture would be excellent for a render purpose;

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This on the other hand, would not be good;

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So make sure to choose a picture that includes this above, otherwise you will find it a hard time rendering it.

2.2 Pen Tool Rendering

Open your picture in photoshop, your picture is probably locked;

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If we work on a locked layer, we will not be able to have a transparent end result.
So double click on the layer, and then this should pop up:

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Click Ok, and then your layer will no longer be locked!:

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Now take forth your pentool.

You should have these settings.

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Open up your chosen picture. Zoom in on the location where you which to start your rendering, a foot or a like is a good choice.
Now you start clicking with the pentool around the object which you want render.
A tip is when you comes to a pretty round part of the picture, hold down your the left click mouse and drag it to create a bend, this can be useful for round areas.

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By clicking like this, you are making a path that will go around the render.

Continue to do this until you reach the end of the pic or the beginning of the path.

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If you haven’t reached the beginning of the path, you can reach it by continuing the path outside the pic, like this.

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Now you right click with your pen tool, choose ”make selection”. Now you will have a line around your render that looks like ants. Right now if we would erase, we would erase the render.
So now press CTRL+SHIFT+I, this will revert our selection. Now erase all with a huge hard brush.

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A beauty isn’t it? But still not done.

If you have any parts left like I do

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Just do as above again until the cut is done, but do not invert the selection.


Now the cut is done.

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If some edges are rough, erase very soft with a small soft brush.

Now copy your layer (have the layer selected, press CTRL+J).
Take the original layer, press filter-blur-gaussian blur.
Settings should be on about 1,5 pixels.

Now the render is done!

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Now go to file-save as. Save your render as .png.
Have these settings when the options pop up (after you have clicked save)

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2.3 Quick Mask Tool

Now were going to have a look at a different way of rendering.
The actual process is relatively easy and this particular conversion took 5 minutes to perform. Of course, digital images will differ and some will be more difficult than others to render the unnecessary image sections. Patience is key.

Let's begin shall we.

· Open the your image in Photoshop. Once the image has been opened, press Q to initiate Quick-Mask mode.

· From the tool bar, select the paint brush icon. Select a starting brush size to use for the mask effect. During the course of the mask selection process, you will probably need different sizes of brushes in order to highlight all aspects of the photo.

· Start using the paintbrush to select the portions of the image that you do not wish to utilize. The selections will turn red as you go over them with the paintbrush



· Continue utilizing the paintbrush, with varying sizes, until the sections you wish to exclude from the image are completely covered.



· When complete, press Q again to exit Quick-Mask mode. At this point, the non- selected portions of the photo will be selected and outlined by a dotted line.




· At this point, select Edit/Copy from the top bar or press Ctrl+C to copy the selected image section into memory. Open new layer and select Edit/Paste from the top bar or press Ctrl+V. This will paste the image selection into the new layer.

. Now go to file -> save as. Save your render as .png.
Have these settings when the options pop up (after you have clicked save)

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And now you have used the Quick Mask tool to make a selection, congratulations.

Homework :
Create a render by the pen tool method. Post it here as a. PNG. You must post the original image aswell. You do not need to render with quick mask, but if you have time I recommend it since it's good practice I want the homework at my desk no later then the 10th March.

[Killerbee]

Looks fair enough. Not sure if the second thing you did exists in GIMP. Though I did find something that looked like it, but it really was crap

Will update tomorrow

[Beorn]

will try this one in the weekend

[Aikanár]

Ah Abbews, mate, you're early! I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere scripting

[abbews]

Updated it a bit.

[Hesus de bodemloze]

[Aikanár]

Ok:

Original pic

Pen method render

Edit: lol same here, updated with gaussian blur

[Leonidas The Lion]

took a stab at it:

EDIT:forgot Gaussian blur, there now
Render:

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Original:

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[Legio]

I don't know how to make an alpha channel on PS so I gave him a groovy background.

[Lazy Knight]

Render

Original

hmm, maybe I should have resized them. I think I will do that and crop or try to fix the line of text another day.

[Capt. Fozdike]

Here's mine. I have used the picture abbews put up because I couldn't be bothered finding another one.

Original

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Render

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[♔Mr.♔L.E.E.♔]

Here is my try old boy!

Original!

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My result!

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[karamazovmm]

My try

rendered:

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original:

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going all the way down to pixels is misleading, as you can see

[abbews]

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You have passed, altough in the future I recommend you to use bigger and higher quality pics.

Ok:

Original pic

Pen method render

Edit: lol same here, updated with gaussian blur

Passed. In the future I advice you to use bigger and HQ pics.

took a stab at it:

EDIT:forgot Gaussian blur, there now
Render:

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Original:

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That is really great! Bravo! Passed.

I don't know how to make an alpha channel on PS so I gave him a groovy background.

First of all my friend, choose a bigger and higher quality picture.
Then it seems like you've tried to erase on a "locked" layer, instead copy the locked layer (CTRL+J) and hide the background layer and do the pentool method on layer 1.

Example

Render

Original

hmm, maybe I should have resized them. I think I will do that and crop or try to fix the line of text another day.

Looking good, as you said you could crop it since there is alot of empty space. Passed.

Here's mine. I have used the picture abbews put up because I couldn't be bothered finding another one.

Original

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Render

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Passed, altough in the future I advice you to find a picture on your own if not stated something else

Here is my try old boy!

Original!

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My result!

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It can be my eyes, but has the render changed colour from the original pic?

My try

rendered:

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original:

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going all the way down to pixels is misleading, as you can see

That picture is hard to render, I suggest picking an other pic. And as I said to Legio, you seem to have worked on the background layer.

Then it seems like you've tried to erase on a "locked" layer, instead copy the locked layer (CTRL+J) and hide the background layer and do the pentool method on layer 1.

Example

[Aikanár]

Passed. In the future I advice you to use bigger and HQ pics.

I'll keep that in mind and thanks for the advice

[Katsumoto]

Here's mine:

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Original:



Render:

[Subuatai de Bodemloze]

Good job Katsu. Looks like a pass to me.

TO everyone: While some of you have done a great job with your renders there have also been a few that were sloppy. I have seen a couple where clearly you have not followed the outline of the render but rather cut in straight lines point to point. Rendering is the worst part of digital design and the single most time consuming part. But if you spend the time the render will look 50 times better.

[Killerbee]

It can be my eyes, but has the render changed colour from the original pic?

I think he put on layers on overlay or so ?

Anyway :

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original :

http://www.wallpaperez.net/wallpaper...nce-2-1620.jpg

[Finch]

Original Image

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Render After using Pen tool

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[Hesus de bodemloze]

You have passed, altough in the future I recommend you to use bigger and higher quality pics.

I noticed when i finished the rendering.