Photoshop CC | Level 1

Photoshop CC Level 1 teaches you to how use layers, retouch photos, manipulate images, create selections, create composites, manage your workspace, add text, layer effects, masks, filters, optimizing for the web, & more. Let's Get creative!

Photoshop CC: Level 1 is for beginners who need an essential understanding of photo editor and want to learn what you can do with this fun graphics application.

This course is a beginner level class for those new to Adobe Photoshop. Also recommended by Adobe for those planning to obtain the Adobe Certified Expert (ACE) status.

Prerequisite: 

Basic Computer Skills on Windows or Mac

Course Outline:

Introduction to Photoshop CC

• What is Photoshop?
• Bitmaps & Vectors
• What is resolution?
• Introducing Photoshop
• Resizing images
• Cropping images
• Export file formats: EPS, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PDF 
• Using Guides, Grids and Smart Guides

The New Photoshop Interface

• Differentiating between the Application bar and the Control panel
• Using the Workspace Switcher to customize workspaces
• Managing images in the new Tabbed format
• Navigation and Open GL: Zooming and panning
• Rotating the canvas view without rotating the image

Color in Photoshop

• The different color modes: RGB, CMYK, Bitmap, Grayscale, Indexed Color & Lab
• Forground and Background colors and how they interact with the Swatches and Color panels
• Color correction fundamentals
• Changing Color with Hue and Saturation
• Using Color Overlays

Using Bridge and Mini Bridge

• Launching Mini Bridge and the differences between Mini Bridge and Bridge
• Viewing linked Photoshop files within an InDesign document in Mini Bridge
• Working with the File Bridge to view, search, sort, manage, rename and process image files
• Searching by file name or keyword
• How the Bridge works with Illustrator, InDesign & Acrobat files
• Use Flags, Keywords and Editable Metadata within the File Bridge

Working with Layers, Layer Styles, Blend Modes & Adjustment Layers

• Creating new Layers, Layer Sets & reordering the stacking order within the layers panel in Photoshop
• Using the Transform functions to Scale, Rotate, Flip, Skew & Distort images and text
• Linking & Aligning Layers within Photoshop
• Grouping Layers
• Transforming Images
• Using Layer Styles to create Drop Shadows, Strokes, Bevels, Glows, and Color Overlays
• Introduction to Adjustment Layers using Hue/Saturation and the CS6 Target Adjustment tool
• Utilizing the new Adjustments' Panel for non-destructive alterations
• Using Smart Objects to scale Illustrator files without losing quality
• Turning a Photoshop layer into a Smart Object to allow for non-destructive transformations
• Using Layer Blend Modes & how they affect layers underneath in the stacking order
• Placing graphics from other applications as layers
• Creating composites with layers

Selections

• Creating Selections in Photoshop, adding and subtracting selections
• Transforming Selections
• Using the Quick Select tool
• Using the Magic Wand
• Improving edges of selections with Refine Edge 
• 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
• More advanced selections
• Saving Selections

Layer Masks, Filters, Transformations

• Introduction to the use of Layer Masks to hide or reveal a portion of an image
• Managing the Masks panel for Pixel or Vector masks
• Refining masks with the Paintbrush or Color range
• Using Refine Edge to clean up selections or to automatically output to a Layer Mask
• Using Filters to create various effects, blurs, drop shadows
• Changing Layer Opacity

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
• Applying Layer Styles, dupicating layers
• Transforming Text

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

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

The History panel

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

Intro to Smart Filters

• Turn layers in to Smart Objects for Smart Filtering

Note: ALL of our classes come with a CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION.