Assignment Sheets
Learn to create graphics for print publications and the Web.
Discover how to edit your digital photographs for printing or to share with friends and family via email and Web pages.
Learn how to create your own photo blog!
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Adobe Photoshop CS3 Syllabus and Assignment Sheet
Estimated Completion: 30 hours
Text: Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book
Cost: $50.00 - Search to see if you can find this book used or cheaper @ Amazon
ISBN: 0321492021
Errata: Adobe Press Site (PDF format)
Cheat sheets - Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheet (PDF) PS3 Keyboard shortcuts (HTML)
It is recommended that you purchase additional text/reference books on each subject to further enhance your knowledge and meet your individual learning style. An Amazon store has been setup with recommended books to continue your studies.
The Contents of the CD
Page xxx - Create a new folder on drive O:\ called photoshopcib. Copy the Lesson Files folder ONLY from the CD to the O:\photoshopcib folder. Do not copy additional folders to drive O:\. Save all of your work to the appropriate sub folder in Lesson Files. The files on the CD are very large. To help to conserve space on the server please delete the start and end files when you complete each chapter; you should only keep your completed work on the server.
Note: If you need a brush up on file management, review the file management handout.
When you copy files from a CD they will be marked as "Read Only". This means that you cannot make changes to the file. You can turn off the read only attributes in Windows Explorer or My Computer. In either of those applications, right click the folder that contains read only files (this would be the Lesson Files folder) and select Properties. Uncheck the Read-only attribute and click Apply. At the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box select Apply changes to this folder, subfolder and files and click OK.
Extras
Your instructor provides extensive additional resources for Web design. You should familiarize yourself with and bookmark the following sites:
- Lecture notes are available at: http://www.robinsblog.com - This site is updated several times per week. Students should check this site daily for important class announcements and updates.
- Web design tutorials are available at: http://www.tinkertech.net. - Spend some time getting familiar with this site, it is a collection of topics discussed in class over the last several years.
- Photoshop is a lot of fun, but it can also be difficult to learn. There are literally thousands of tutorials on the Internet for Photoshop. I would recommend that you explore additional Web tutorials by searching for +photoshop +tutorial with Google. If you are looking for more information on a specific tool, try searching for +photoshop +tutorial +toolname.
- Additional Photoshop sites can be found at http://www.tinkertech.net/photoshop.htm.
Backing up Your Student Files
You should periodically back up your student files to CD. Instructions for creating a data CD are here (Word document format).
General Notes
Access Photoshop in the classroom by clicking Start > All Programs > Adobe Design Premium CS3 > Adobe Photoshop CS3.
The errata for this book can be found at http://www.adobepress.com/content/images/9780321492029/errata/0321492021Errata.pdf
Helpful keyboard shortcuts can be found at http://www.keyxl.com/aaac987/148/Adobe-Photoshop-CS3-keyboard-shortcuts.htm.
It is important to read each lesson before you begin working on the computer. This book contains exercises with many complex tasks; reading the lesson prior to actually completing the lesson in Photoshop will help you to understand the exercise goals and outcomes. Doing this will help you to avoid playing a game of Twister with your book where you are holding down your left mouse button, the shift key, and trying to turn the page in your book at the same time. :D
Complete all assignments in the book Adobe Photoshop CS3 Classroom in a Book. Chapter notes/errors are indicated below.
Lesson Notes/Extra Assignments
Lesson 1
No notes at this time.
Lesson 2
Page 75 #4 - The shortcut for saving a file is CTRL+S. Throughout the book the author indicates to use File > Save to save your work, but pressing CTRL+S is faster.
Lesson 3
Page 94 #2 - Make sure that Transparent is not selected in the tool options bar.
Lesson 4
No notes at this time.
Lesson 5
Page 166 1st paragraph after image - The image site will be 7.87 MB
Page 169 #4 - Make sure that Layer 2 is the only layer selected when you start erasing.
Lesson 6
Page 192 #6 - Click the image thumbnail not the mask thumbnail before you apply the Mosaic Tile filter.
Page 195 Note - The resolution for the paper image is 200 ppi.
Page 204 #5 - The Buddha Mask channel should be selected when you look at the Channels palette, not the Statue channel.
Lesson 7
No notes at this time.
Lesson 8
Page 264 #1 - You can insert sticky notes into your Photoshop
document using the Notes Tool
.
Page 274 #6 - Press the CTRL and the semicolon at the same time to turn off the Guides.
Lesson 9
Page 281 - Learning the Pen tool can be a difficult concept. I would recommend completing this chapter twice or until you get the hang of using the Pen tool. You may also find CreativeTechs' Pen Tool Cheat Sheet (PDF) helpful.
Lesson 10
Page 321 #3 - You may not have an F13 key on your keyboard, use CTRL+SHIFT+F12 instead.
Page 322 #1 - Remember, use whatever shortcut key you set on page 321.
Page 337 #2 - Do not press the Alt key when you click the Layer menu.
Lesson 11
The shortcut for deselecting an object is CTRL+D.
Page 367 - For more information on the performance improvement techniques, search Photoshop Help.
Lesson 12
No notes at this time.
Lesson 13
No notes at this time.
Lesson 14
No notes at this time.
More Tutorials
Photoshop is a lot of fun, but it can also be difficult to learn. There are literally thousands of tutorials on the Internet for Photoshop. Be sure to check the Photoshop section of my blog and the message forum. I would also recommend that you explore additional Web tutorials by searching for +photoshop +tutorial with Google. If you are looking for more information on a specific tool, try searching for +photoshop +tutorial +toolname. You may also enjoy some of the tutorials available at Worth1000.com, there are a ton of fun techniques.
There is so much to learn in Photoshop; explore the tutorials I've mentioned on this page and check the Amazon bookstore for additional resources.
Submitting Your Work
PhotoShop Final Project:
For your final project you will create a Website Mockup.
Web designers frequently use Photoshop or other graphic applications to create comps (Comprehensive drawings) or mockups of Web sites. After a designer has sketched out the design of the site and the client selects the design, the designer creates a comp or mockup in Photoshop. Usually this mockup is the beginning of the actual Web site. It includes all of the graphical elements of the Web site (photos, buttons, logos, graphics, etc.), but it does not include the actual content nor does it function. These mockups are also frequently called interfaces or Web layouts. Here are some articles on creating mockups and Web site layouts:
35 Tutorials for Creating Website Layouts in Photoshop
Web Design Mockup Using Photoshop @ The Undersigned
Quick CSS Mockups with Photoshop
Producing a Website Design Mockup
Photoshop Mockup or Live Design
Before you begin this process I would recommend that you complete some of the tutorials that I have listed above and you complete the Photoshop CS3 for the Web Essential Training at Lynda.com (ask your instructor for a username and password). Web developers must always learn new techniques in order to complete client projects. The Internet is a tremendous source of tutorials for all applications, especially Photoshop.
You may find this tutorial on Creating a Web-page header with a tabbed navigation bar especially helpful.
Before you begin this project you may want to visit Planet Photoshop and review the tutorials on Comping Web Pages and Web Pages in Photoshop. Also review the tutorial Designing a Web Site in Photoshop at SitePoint. There is also a nice, complete layout tutorial at Dipiction which I would really recommend that you complete. It steps through the process of creating a basic layout in Photoshop. There is also a tutorial at PegaWeb for creating the Slime Factory Web site; there are also numerous other Web site creation tutorials at the PegaWeb site.. For inspiration, you might want to take a look at some of the templates at http://www.photoshop-templates.com/.
There are lots of links to interface tutorials on PSWorkshop.
Eyes on Design has a very comprehensive tutorial on creating a navigation interface.
Spoono, has some nice Photoshop tutorials, as does Absolute Cross. A lot of effects tutorials are available at Good-Tutorials.com and Pure Photoshop. There are also some beautiful tutorials at Voidix.
Additional Photoshop resources can be found at the following links:
http://www.tinkertech.net/photoshop.htm
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=+"photoshop+cs"++tutorial
Create the following graphical elements:
- After reviewing the above examples/tutorials, design an interface or comp (comprehensive drawing) that includes slicing, rollovers, and a logo (tutorial). Try to use your own photos, images and design for the interface/Web layout. This should be a one-page interface. You do not have to create the content for the page (text). After you create the comp/interface in Photoshop save the optimized file as images and HTML. You can then modify the layout as necessary by opening the HTML file in Dreamweaver. After opening the file in Dreamweaver, create links to the other required project elements listed below. I would recommend that you review my project page before beginning this interface; it outlines the entire process that I used to create these items in Photoshop.
- Web Photo Gallery
- Transparent GIF (Place this image in its own Web page. Change the background color of the Web page to demonstrate that the image is transparent.)
- Seamless Tile or background image (This tile should be placed as a background image in its own Web page.)
Read some of the tutorials on logo design here http://www.tutorialfind.com/tutorials/design/
Examples of logos can be viewed at the following pages:
http://www.emediadigital.com/logo_examples.htm
http://www.jhastava.com/logos.html
http://www.brightidea.ie/logos/logos.htm#
http://www.delphipress.com/
http://www.wordpix.com/portfolio/logos.asp
http://www.logo-mojo.com/html/logo_design_3.html
Upload the final project items to your Web site or copy them to the instructor review folder. Notify your instructor via email, rwood@cccoe.k12.ca.us with the location of your site/files.
Photoshop for Digital Photographers is also available if you would like to learn more about manipulating your images. If you want to learn more about working with digital images and more advanced Photoshop techniques, I have some recommended books on my site.
More Photoshop Goodies
Visit Adobe Studio Exchange for Plug-ins, Actions, Filters, Gradients and more.
You should bookmark the Adobe Studio. It contains lots of tips, tutorials, and resources for Photoshop.
Advanced Studies
Visit my Amazon Store for additional learning resources.
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