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Photoshop CS3

 

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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!

Call 925-942-3436 now to enroll.

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

Text: Sexy Web Design: Creating Interfaces That Work - This book is required reading

Cost: $ - Order this book from 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 - Ask your instructor to copy the Photoshop files into your user directory. They will be in a folder on drive O:\ called photoshopcib.   Save all of your work to the appropriate sub folder in Lesson Files.

Note: If you need a brush up on file management, review the file management handout.

If 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:

1. 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.
2. Visit the discussion forum at http://discuss.robinsblog.com/modules.php?name=Forums there are loads of resources.
3. 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.

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 > Web Development > 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

Skip chapter 12. We no longer use these techniques to create Web pages. When you complete the book there will be additional lessons for you to complete to learn the current techniques for creating Photoshop mockups and converting them to working Websites.

Lesson 13

Skip this chapter

Lesson 14

No notes at this time.

Additional Lessons - Create Photoshop Mockups

Complete all of the tutorials posted in the article Easy to Follow Photoshop Tutorials for Creating Portfolio Layouts. You must complete these tutorials in order to complete your Photoshop final project.

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.

PhotoShop Final Project: 

No single book will teach you everything that you need to know about a software application. The Photoshop Classroom in a Book is designed to give you an introduction to Photoshop. It's important to continue your studies using additional books and all of the wonderful free resources and tutorials on the Web.

This project was not covered in your book. You will have to complete several tutorials found on the Internet in order to complete the project. You should have also read Sexy Web Design: Creating Interfaces That Work before completing this project.

For your final project you will create a single page portfolio of your work. This single page portfolio should include a Website Mockup in Photoshop, a logo, and a seamless tile. The mockup should be converted to a working Web page with XHTML and CSS. When you are creating these documents you should create them on a transparent background, especially the logo. You can use this single page portfolio to showcase your best work to potential clients and future employers.

Here are some single page Web sites to get your creative juices flowing:

• 74 Fresh Examples Of Beautiful Single Page Website Designs
• 88 Single Page Website Designs For Design Inspiration
• 25 Beautiful One Page Portfolio Websites of Designers on Twitter
• The One Page Graphic Design Portfolio Guide

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 reviews the sketch, 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.  I would like you to review the tutorials listed in the articles Converting a Photoshop PSD File to an XHTML & CSS Web Site – Creating Mockups and Building Your Own Portfolio Site. These resources alone should give you more than enough tutorials to get you started with creating your own mockup. You should complete a few of the tutorials and then create your own mockup - I expect to see original mockups, not copies of the tutorials.

Create the following graphical elements:

• After reviewing the above examples/tutorials, design an interface/mockup that includes a logo, navigation, main content area with sample text, and a footer element. Review the resources in the article 500+ Illustrator and Photoshop Logo Tutorials, Resources, and Inspiration to get ideas for your logo. Try to use your own photos, images and design for the interface/Web layout. This should be a one-page interface. If you did not complete the tutorials in the article Easy to Follow Photoshop Tutorials for Creating Portfolio Layouts go back and do them before you begin this project.
• Your logo should be in included on your mockup and submitted as a transparent PNG file. Fireworks actually does the best job of creating or converting to PNG-8 alpha transparent images. Review the articles PNG Alpha Transparency - No Clear Winner and PNG8 - The Clear Winner.
• Create a seamless tile or background image (This tile should be placed as a background image in its own Web page). You should use your favorite search engine to find tutorials for creating seamless tiles in Photoshop.
• Convert the single page portfolios to a working Web page using XHTML and CSS. Again, you should have completed Easy to Follow Photoshop Tutorials for Creating Portfolio Layouts. You will find also many resources in the article Converting a Photoshop PSD File to an XHTML & CSS Web Site – Creating Mockups.
• Create an Interface Style Guide. You can read more about Interface Style Guides in the article Writing an Interface Style Guide at A List Apart.

Submitting Your Work

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. 

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.