Photoshop skills

Photoshop skillsSchool based

Magazine

Selection

I used the colour range selection tool to select the background.Then I added some parts to the selection with the selection tool which was in the “add to selection” mode.Afterwards I pressed on delete.

The reason why I used this tool is , that because the background mainly had only one colour it was the fastest way to cut out my model.

Background

I used the gradient tool, which made a transition from blue to white, to do the background of my magazine

I changed the colour from black to blue

After using the Gradient toolmy cover looked like this

Insert some shapes

I used the path tool to create a path which I turned into a selection, afterwards I filled the selection with black, so I have a nice curvy line at the bottom.Next I did the same thing but I selected this time the part under the curvy line and filled this bit with red.To do that I used the paint bucket tool.

After that my page looked like this.To do the selling line on top I used the rectangle tool.

The Headline

To do the headline I use the horizontal type tool. After changing size, placement and colour, I gave the headline a drop shadow effect. To make it more eye-catching I gave an Inflate effect to “Sixthformer” with the Warp text button.

To add an effect you just click on the layer which should get the effect and then you press on the button in the layer slot which says fx.

The Plug

To create the plug I used the ellipse tool and gave a bevel effect to it to make it stand out more.

Then I added some text and wrote the first word in capital letters.Next I edited the text so that it fits into the plug.

Cover lines

I used the horizontal type tool to write the cover lines and made them more interesting by writing the first word in capitals and using different font sizes, which I did with the horizontal type tool options.Afterwards I changed the colours of the cover lines by marking the text I want to edit and then double click on the colour panel and choosing a colour.Next I pressed on OK and it was done.

Final touches

To finish the front cover I added some stuff which made my magazine more like a magazine.Like date, issue number and price.

Then I wrote something for the selling line.

Next I wrote a catchy sentence in the round shape at the bottom, I gave a drop shadow effect on it as well.

Next I show you how I did my

contents page

The path tool

I used the path tool to make a perfect curved line. First I made a path then I turned it into a selection and in the end I used the brush to fill the selection with black.

Afterwards my page looked like this.

Gradient tool

I used the selection of the paths I made and reversed them by pressing ctrl+shift+i.

Afterwards I used the gradient tool to fill in the selected area.

I arrange the tool so that it goes from light blue to white

Opacity

I made a shape with rectangle tool

Then I changed the colour to orange, but I wanted the areas which the picture will be to be transparent.

To do that I selected the area which is supposed to be transparent and brought down the opacity.I did this with the top and bottom part.

Image adjustments

To make the pictures in my magazine look better I had to do some adjustmentsSo I brought up the brightness a bit and put the contrast on the highest level possible.

This is my picture before

And this is my picture after

Pencil tool

I used the pencil tool to outline the pictures which are in the middle of my contents page.

After you select the pencil tool you define size and colour.I used about 10 px for the outlines.

To draw straight with the pencil tool you have to keep the shift button pressed as long as you are drawing.

Black and White

Of course you can go into adjustments and click on black and white to turn a picture into black and white, but I don’t like to do it that way, because the picture turns out a bit too flat.So here is how I do it.

Step.1You go into the channels and check the red, green and blue channel and the decide which channel emphasises more the depth of field. In this case the red channel was the best but still a bit to flat.

Step.2Now you go back to your layers and use the channel mixer on your background.To use the channel mixer you click on fx .

Step.3To make the picture black and white you have to tick the box which says Monochrome.Now you bring up the red channel ,bring down the blue channel and play a bit with the constant till you like the end result.

This is the picture after going to adjustments and clicking on black and white.

And here is the picture after using the channel mixer.

In my opinion there is a world of difference when you use channel mixer instead of the black and white adjustment.

Drop shadow effect

To drop a shadow I click on fx first.Second I click on drop shadow.When I do that a small window will appear.

In this window I can change the size, colour, angle, opacity, spread, distance, etc. of the shadow.

To change the colour you click on the rectangle next to the blend mode.

When you click on the rectangle next to the blend mode another window will appear.

In this window you can select a colour.

To do that you can enter the number of the colour you want in the RGB or HSB mode.The easier way is to select the colour by using the colour slide.

I used all these tools to produce my school based

magazine